The Time Travel Experience
by emily-cullen23
Summary: Sheldon's friends have often wondered if their friend had any sexual feelings for anyone at all. They thought he would never even have an actual girlfriend, let alone have a family. That is, until proof that Sheldon does have a deal falls out of the sky.
1. Ch 1 Late Night Revelations

~This is my first Big Bang Theory fan-fiction so please be gentle with me. I accept constructive criticism, but please be respectful about it. I do not own the world or characters of The Big Bang Theory nor do I own Gothika, Doctor Who, or any songs mentioned within the duration of this story. However, I do own any OCs mentioned in this story. Please contact me if you wish to use any of them.~

Sheldon Cooper, physicist extraordinaire, is emailing Amy Farrah Fowler while his friends, Howard and Raj, sing Michael Jackson's hit Thriller on 'anything can happen' Thursday. So far, Penny and Leonard have not come back from their date, and everyone has gotten tired of waiting for them. Soon enough, the song is over, and the apartment becomes silent once more.

"Is Amy coming over tonight, Sheldon?" Howard asks, sitting down on the couch.

"No, she had to finish a report on how her monkey was reacting to the nicotine within cigarettes to turn in to the university tomorrow." Sheldon answers from his spot at his desk.

"Oh, yes. I find her ability to teach a mere primate how to become addicted to something potentially life-threatening both peculiar and enticing." Raj adds with his daydreaming smile on his face as he pictures things about a certain Amy Farrah Fowler that would make a common whore blush.

"Oh calm down, you. You know that Sheldon and Amy are meant to be together, right Sheldon?" Howard scolds, looking to Sheldon with a stupidly hopeful look on his face for Sheldon to prove that he isn't an asexual being as currently everyone in their circle of friends thinks he is.

"Howard, you ought to know by now that I, as a brilliant physicist with a doctorate, do not believe in such trivial things as fate and soul mates as you common people do. I am a man of science and logic, not someone who frequently seeks and engages in coitus. Furthermore, I'll have you know that I just do not feel that way about Amy Farrah Fowler. We are no more than friends, and I plan on telling her that tomorrow." Sheldon responds unemotionally from his spot on the computer.

Howard and Raj share a look. Is he really as much of a robot as he is acting right now?

"You mean you're going to break up with her? Why?" Howard sounds generally shocked. No one is as perfect for crazy Sheldon Cooper as Amy Farrah Fowler is.

"I simply do not feel the same way for her as she does for me. Not to mention, between my work and maintaining my perfect schedule which has been suffering these past couple months since Amy and I have been dating, I simply do not have time for a relationship at this given point in time."

"Sheldon, that girl is crazy about you. Why would you want to give that up?" Penny asks from her spot at the door. Apparently, she and Leonard got home just in time to hear of the appending doom of the group's beloved Shamy couple.

Sheldon simply looks at her condescendingly. "Since you asked the question, I can assume that you heard me explain to Howard why I am planning to end my romantic relationship with Amy Farrah Fowler. Therefore, I do not feel the need to repeat myself."

Penny simply sits down on the couch beside Howard and raises her eyebrow at her current boyfriend's roommate. "Sheldon, after knowing you for four years, I know you better than that. If your schedule was all that this was about, you would have never drawn up the relationship agreement in the first place. You wouldn't have included your relationship with Amy into your schedule and then let all that hard work go to waste a few months later. So what is this really about?"

Everyone in the apartment is speechless as Sheldon looks almost guilty for trying to lie his way out of the group's questioning. Eventually, after Sheldon is able to look into Penny's light green eyes again, does he speak once more.

"Surprisingly the waitress from the Cheesecake Factory is right. It is more than just her presence in my life changing my schedule. It is just that she wants more out of our relationship. More than I can actually give her. Therefore, I find it easier to just terminate our relationship before she can get her hopes up even higher just to have them come crashing down."

Once more, everyone in the apartment is speechless with only one thought on their minds. Did Sheldon actually just sound human instead of the same half-human/half-robot hybrid he sounded like not even five minutes ago?

Naturally, Penny is the first to break the silence. "Oh, sweetie," she says before walking over to Sheldon and hugging him. Sheldon flinches, but doesn't push her away.

This serves to shock the group even further. At least 'anything can happen' Thursday is truly living up to its name. After a couple of minutes, Penny sits back down beside Howard, and he doesn't even try to put his hand on her bare thigh. Not that he has done so much since he became engaged to Bernadette. God bless that short, blonde haired woman for being willing to be with the pervert of Pasadena and change him for the better in the process. 'If Howard even thinks about hurting her', Penny thinks to herself, 'I'll go all junior rodeo on his ass'.

"Can you people, by some nonexistent miracle, actually understand why I am going to, as you put it, 'break up' with Amy now?" Sheldon questions, putting air-quotes around break up.

"We understand." Penny, Leonard, and Howard all say in unison. Raj just nods. He still cannot figure out how to speak in front of women without being under the effects of alcohol. However, he is getting slightly better when he speaks to Amy. Amy, as soon as she is done with her research on how monkeys react to smoking, says she wants to try and help Raj get over his selective mutism once and for all. Raj could not be happier when she told him last week.

As a matter of fact, Penny can understand exactly where Sheldon is coming from. She thought that being back with Leonard would be challenging but worth it. She really should've learned her lesson from dating the same guy the two previous times. It just would not work out. Leonard worships and adores her, and she really enjoys his company, but it's almost too easy. Penny had figured out a long time ago that she loved a challenge. She needed to be tested. No matter how much she loved Leonard, he could never be a challenge for her. For that reason, she has never felt closer to the wackadoodle from across the hall that she met four years ago.

After a few more minutes of semi-awkward silence, Raj turns on the television to _Gothika_ on the Syfy channel, and Leonard finally moves away from the door of his own apartment to sit in the only available seat besides 'Sheldon's spot' while Sheldon moves from his desk to sit in his spot. The gang watches the movie until it is off before Howard yawns and stands up. "Well, I think it's time to leave. What do you think Raj?"

Raj only nods and stands up as well. Before either of the two can move toward the door, however, what seems to be a massive earthquake shakes the apartment to its core. Everyone screams and takes cover, even Sheldon. It seems like forever, but in reality is only a minute, before the shaking stops.

After everyone calms down, he/she takes into account their positions. Raj and Howard are holding onto each other for dear life and Leonard looks like he is about to disappear under the couch. The most shocking, however, are Penny and Sheldon's positions. Penny somehow managed to climb onto Sheldon's lap and has her head buried in his chest. Sheldon is holding onto her almost like he is protecting her and both hands are splayed across her back. Leonard, after standing, cannot help but feel a little jealous toward his eccentric roommate. Raj and Howard stand up after Leonard, both pretending not to notice the position they were in only a few moments ago, instead turning their attention to the two still sitting on the floor.

Eventually, the two also realized the position they found themselves in and got up awkwardly. Thankfully, everyone in the room choose not to mention the position, opting instead for trying to figure out what caused the positions in the first place.

"That's the biggest earthquake this year." Penny comments while surveying the damage inflicted on the apartment only a few moments before.

"That wasn't a normal earthquake, Penny." explains Leonard as the entire group of amazing scientists share an extremely dumbfounded look, a look that Penny finds laughable.

"Why does dr. wackadoodle look like his head is about to explode?" Penny asks in an only slightly sarcastic tone.

"He can't figure out what caused the earthquake." Leonard explains.

"I can't either. The only thing that I can figure out is that it wasn't caused by plates shifting. That's what makes it so strange." Howard adds looking at the now convulsing Dr. Cooper.

"Maybe we can make sense of things for you." a female voice states from behind the group that has them all turning around quickly at the sound.

The sight has them all shocked to the core. In front of them are five teenage girls they have never seen before standing within the apartment.

"Holy shit, it really is 'anything can happen' Thursday." Howard exclaims just as Raj falls to the floor in a dead faint.


	2. Ch 2 Explanations

~For disclaimer, please refer to the first chapter of this story. Anyway, I am posting a poll for this story on my profile. Please take the poll once you read this chapter and not before as it contains spoliers. Thank you all for reading.~

Needless to say, the earthquake mystery is long forgotten. While Howard tries to wake Raj from his shock-induced slumber, Sheldon looks about ready to explode. "Why are you in my apartment? Leonard, why are five strange girls in our apartment?"

"I don't know, Sheldon. What are your names anyway?" Leonard answers while wiping his glasses before putting them back on his face, as if to see if the girls standing in his apartment are real.

One girl, taller than the rest, with waist-length, dark brown hair and dark blue eyes wearing a light blue tank top and white jeans steps forward. "I am Erica. This is my fraternal twin sister Monica and our friends Olivia, Natalie, and Nikita." she says while pointing to a girl with long, dirty blonde hair and dark blue eyes wearing a tight, black Halestorm t-shirt; a short girl with shoulder-length, curly, chestnut brown hair and light brown eyes wearing a pink sundress; a pale girl with long, black hair up in a ponytail and chocolate brown eyes wearing a strapless purple top and dark blue jean shorts; and a girl with wavy medium brown hair up in a messy bun and chocolate brown eyes wearing a white spaghetti strap top with a short-sleeve denim jacket over it and washed out jeans.

"Don't you girls have last names?" Howard asks from his position on the floor while still trying to revive Raj.

"We do, but we seriously don't want another one of you to faint on us." the girl with long blonde hair, Monica, states.

"Why would we faint because of your last names?" Leonard asks suspiciously, walking closer to the girls. They look about eighteen, he realizes.

"Because we are from the future," Olivia answers before any of the other girls can stop her.

Raj, who had just woken up a moment before, faints again. "Olivia, we were trying to ease into it." Nikita scolds while looking over at Raj with a look of apology on her face.

"Hang on; you guys are actually from the future?" Penny asks, looking at the girls in wonder.

"That is absurd." Sheldon speaks up.

"Really, Dr. Cooper? Explain your theory on just how it is absurd for time travel to be possible, and I'll explain to you exactly how it is possible." Erica speaks up again, a look of challenge on her face as she walks toward a slightly baffled Sheldon Cooper.

The rest of the group, including the rest of the girls, stop whatever noise they were making before as they watch the conversation take place between genius self-proclaimed homo Novus and a teenage girl declaring she is from the future.

"Alright, I am always up for a challenge even though I doubt this will be much of a challenge." Sheldon says as he steps closer as well. "It is absurd because the clothing each of you is wearing as well as hairstyle and makeup suggests that, even if you did come from the future, you would come from no more than a decade into the future. If this is true, all of you are already in this time period, and to add an exact genetic copy of one being into the same universe at the exact same point in time would shatter the entire universe. To add one more point, you girls would have to be geniuses in order to create a time machine, and no other creator would let you travel back in time as you are too young."

Everyone automatically looks at Erica with looks of pity on their faces as if he/she thinks that she doesn't have a chance. Then Erica speaks.

"You did not take into account that we may've picked clothing out that would not look completely absurd in your present-day Pasadena, and hairstyles have not changed much in the past years, or in future years for you. As such, you cannot judge from what time frame in the future we come from so your shattering the entire universe hypothesis is null. While we did not create the time machine by ourselves, some of us did help. The actual creators could not come with us because, as you said, it would completely disrupt the space-time continuum and essentially shatter the universe as we know it. Furthermore, they are also needed in their own time period to monitor us and make sure nothing goes wrong. One more thing, we entering the universe at this point in time is what caused the earthquake. The reason being is that we were traveling at light speed to go back in time, and when we landed, it caused a huge shift under our feet, thus causing the earthquake that only people on this floor of the building felt."

Everyone looks astounded, even Sheldon. It seems like Sheldon has just met his match, and she just so happens to be a girl from some unknown point in time in the future. Seeing as Sheldon looks like he is not going to speak up anytime soon and Raj has still not woken up, Howard chooses to get up and speak to the girls.

"What year are you girls from?"

"We are from the year 2032 so we are from twenty years into the future." Natalie explains.

"How old are you? You look like you're eighteen."

"We're actually seventeen. We just started our senior year a couple of months ago."

"Even you, Erica?" Sheldon asks, looking at the girl who had shown him up a few moments beforehand.

"Yes, why?" Erica asks, looking at the deranged physicist in confusion.

"I figured, since you seem to be very intelligent for a girl your age, that you would be close to gaining your doctorate by now."

Everyone besides Erica is once more speechless. Did Sheldon Cooper really just sincerely compliment someone? Erica just smiles showing perfectly white teeth.

"If I had chosen to, I would be one year away from getting my bachelor's degree."

"Why didn't you choose to be moved up a few grades?" Now, he just looks confused as if he could not comprehend someone not wanting to finish school sooner.

"I didn't want to leave my friends and sister behind. I love being smart, but how fast I get a degree is not everything in the world to me."

Sheldon actually looks appalled.

"Back to the question at hand," Leonard says while wiping at his forehead. "Why would someone else faint if you tell us your last names?"

"I thought it would've been obvious by now." Monica starts.

"How could any part of this situation possibly be obvious?"

"He's got a point, Monica." Erica supplies.

"True. Anyway, we come from around twenty years in the future to this exact location, and we are afraid to tell you our last names. What do you think?"

"You want to kill Sheldon before he becomes the supreme overlord of your world and essentially destroys it." Howard says only semi-jokingly.

"No," all five girls say at once.

"You need something for an experiment that you can only acquire in this time period, and we need to help you find it." Leonard tries.

"No," the girls once again say simultaneously.

"You need," Howard tries, but the girls interrupt.

"We're your daughters from the future!" all five of them scream together loud enough to wake the dead and deafen the living.

After their outburst, there is silence for all of five seconds before there is a thud. All heads turn to see Howard faint right beside Raj.

Before Sheldon can deny the fact that at least one of the girls is his biological daughter, Erica interjects. "Yes, even you have a daughter Sheldon, and yes you created her the normal, non-scientific way."

"But that it is not possible! I am a man of science and reason; not someone's boy-toy! I don't have coitus. I can't stand human contact."

Before Sheldon can continue, Erica slaps him. Hard. "Get a grip, Sheldon!" she screams while putting her hands around his shoulders.

"You hit me." he states, not even trying to shake her arms off.

"Looks like it was a pretty good hit, too," Penny says from her now sitting position. "Now, I have a question. Are any of you mine?"

"Yes," the group answers.

"Holy crap on a cracker," she exclaims looking almost sick.

"Who is my daughter?" he asks before looking at Erica and Monica, "or daughters?" he adds as an afterthought.

"Should we tell him or let him guess?" Nikita asks the group. Everyone says yes. Except for Erica. The group looks questionably at her.

"Just tell him. It's a wonder the poor guy hasn't freaked out yet."

"Fine," Natalie says, rolling her eyes as she steps forward. "My full name is Natalie Clarisse Hofstadter."

"But you have black hair! I thought you would be Raj's. Who is your mother?"

"Obviously, Penny is not her mother." Sheldon finally speaks up after calming down. He moves away from Erica who finally puts her arms down. Leonard raises his eyebrows at Sheldon.

"Oh for crying out loud," Sheldon exclaims before moving toward Natalie and Nikita. "These two have the exact same color eyes suggesting that they are related to some extent. Natalie has black hair which is very improbable if she came from a blonde mother even if the father has slightly dark hair. Her face is neither yours nor Penny's nor a mixture of the two. Furthermore, while Penny has wide hips as well as your mother, Natalie has a rather slender figure. Therefore, there is almost no possible way for Penny to be the mother of Natalie. From the physical appearance, my estimate is that Priya is Natalie's mother and Raj is Nikita's father seeing as both Priya and Raj have the same color eyes as Natalie and Nikita do."

It is silent before someone starts clapping. Turning around, they see Erica and Monica clapping their hands. "Good job, Dr. Cooper, excellent deduction skills."

"If you're so smart then tell me; which one of them is yours?" Leonard asks, eyes flashing in challenge.

"Simple, I don't have a child." Sheldon answers quickly before sitting down in his spot once more.

Leonard and Penny watch the three unknown girls carefully. All three flinch at Sheldon's declaration, but none show emotion.

"I just had the weirdest dream." All conscious occupants in the apartment turn to the direction of the slightly groggy voice of the newly awakened Raj Koothrappali.

"I know how you feel buddy. I dreamt that five young women walked straight into Leonard and Sheldon's apartment claiming they were our daughters." says the newly awakening Howard Wolowitz.

"It wasn't a dream geniuses." Penny informs while rolling her eyes.

"Of course it was, Penny. I don't see any strange women in this apartment." Howard explains before looking away from Penny and sees the five girls.

Raj notices them too, and both of them look like they are about to faint once more. Before they have the chance, Penny and Erica say, simultaneously, "If you two faint again, I swear to god, I'll kick your asses."

"What are they doing here then? How do we even know if they are from the future, and what did Howard mean about them being our daughters?" Raj asks question after question, looking terribly confused, and the chock of the situation making him temporarily forget about his selective mutism.

Leonard takes the liberty of explaining everything to Raj, and by the end of the explanation; Raj looks like he is ready to faint again.

"I have a daughter? You are my daughter?" Raj squeaks, walking closer to Nikita, eyes never leaving hers.

"Yes," she squeaks out, looking like she wants to run for the hills, but she doesn't move an inch.

"Should you really be telling us this if it is the truth? We can really disrupt the fabric of the universe by knowing too much." Sheldon explains, eyes shifting between each of the five girls as if looking for a reason for them to be here besides what they told him.

"Dude, I may not be the smartest girl in the world, in this decade or my own, but even I know that we screwed it up plenty just by being here and letting all of you see us. So, we can't screw it up much further by giving you guys some information." Monica says, sticking her chin out slightly as if she is really proud of herself for coming to that conclusion.

"She is right, Sheldon. They can't screw the universe up even more if they tried. We might as well find out about them while they're here."

"While I agree with Monica, we should only explain about ourselves or our siblings. We should not give away more information about you guys." Erica speaks, looking at every one of the guys and Penny.

"Erica is correct; we can never know more than we already do about our future selves. Who knows what could result from it if we do. Now, if all of you will excuse me, I will be catching up on my REM cycle. Goodnight," Sheldon declares before going to his room and shutting the door.

"I must be getting home too. You coming Raj?" Howard asks, looking at his Indian best friend.

Raj just nods, the shock wearing off and selective mutism returning. Before he goes, however, he hugs Nikita and whispers goodnight in her ear.

Once the door to the apartment closes, the girls, Leonard, and Penny just look at each other. Finally, Leonard asks, "Where are you girls going to sleep?"

"We could try to find a hotel room, but I don't think anyone within their right mind would let five seventeen year old girls share a room." Nikita offers, looking slightly red from her hug.

"We can't have that. Two of you will come with me to my apartment, and the others can stay here for the night. Right, Leonard?" Penny says, smiling at the girls before looking pointedly at her boyfriend.

"Sure thing, I'm sure it'll be fine." Leonard says.

"Okay, Nikita and I will go to Penny's apartment with her, and you guys can stay here." Olivia announces, looking at Erica, Monica, and Natalie for confirmation.

"Sure goodnight," they remaining three girls agree simultaneously.

"Goodnight," they say before walking out of the apartment and across the hall.

"Goodnight girls and Leonard," Penny says before walking toward the door.

"Wait, what about a goodnight kiss?" Leonard asks gently, walking toward Penny.

"I don't think that would be appropriate. Goodnight, girls." She says once more before walking over to her apartment where the other two are waiting.

"I'll take the couch, and don't either of you even think of arguing about this with me because I am the shortest even if it is only by an inch or two." Natalie says defiantly, already sitting down on the couch and pulling her hair out of its ponytail.

"Okay, I'll take the floor of Cooper's lair Ricki, you go with Leonard. Goodnight sis," Monica says before hugging Erica and slipping inside Sheldon Cooper's most private room, shutting the door quietly.

Not saying a word, Leonard and Erica go to his bedroom. Once inside, Erica explains, "I'll sleep in the floor. You shouldn't give up your bed for me."

"Okay, but can I ask you one question?"

"You just did," Erica says jokingly before turning serious once more. "What is it?"

"You and Monica are Sheldon Cooper's daughters. Aren't you?"

"You sound like you already know the answer."

"I think I do, but I need to either confirm or refute my suspicion."

"Your suspicions are correct." Erica says simply before taking one of Leonard's pillows and lying down on it.

After a few minutes of silence in which Erica is almost asleep, she hears a faint "Erica?"

"Leonard?"

"Who is your mother if Sheldon's your father?"

"In other words, you are asking me who would be so stupid as to have sex with and potentially marry Sheldon Cooper."

"Pretty much," Leonard concedes, hoping and praying with his heart and soul that her mother is not who he thinks she is.

When Erica answers, her voice partially riddled with sleep Leonard knows he won't get any sleep tonight. Hell, he might not even get any sleep again. Because if Erica's answer proves to be the truth, and Leonard has absolutely no doubts that it is the truth at this point, then his life will be, from this moment on, irrevocably changed. Erica only whispers one word so Leonard can barely hear it, but that one word will change the universe as Leonard and his friends have always known it. They have often wondered what Sheldon's deal was, and now this seventeen year old girl shows up in their lives with the answer to one of life's most unanswerable questions: what, or who, does Sheldon Cooper find sexually attractive.

"Penny"


	3. Ch 3 Bonding Time

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. Thank you guys for reading and commenting on my story!

Erica wakes up before Leonard. Checking the time on his alarm clock, it is 7:00 a.m. Sighing, she stands up and stretches into a backbend. Feeling and hearing her back pop almost makes her moan aloud. If it wasn't for the spectacled man in the bed, she probably would have. Resisting the urge to do a back flip as she usually does first thing in the morning, Erica slowly stands and makes her way to the living room. There, she finds Sheldon watching Doctor Who, a bowl of cereal in his hands.

"Good morning, where is Natalie at?" Erica asks, running a slender hand through her very long hair while trying to untangle it somewhat.

"Good morning, she wanted to take a shower without having to disrupt mine and Leonard's morning schedule so I lent Natalie my spare key to Penny's apartment so she could shower over there." Sheldon answers before continuing to eat his cereal.

"Do you mind if I eat some of your cereal?"

"I suppose not since you are technically a guest."

"Thanks, which episode are you watching?" she asks while looking through the different cereals before settling on one.

"The Doctor's Daughter obviously," he answers arrogantly.

"Cool, David Tennant is my all-time favorite out of the new shows." Erica says while fixing herself a bowl of cereal before sitting down beside Sheldon.

"I suppose he is alright, but he is a bit too empathetic for my taste." Sheldon responds while getting up to put his now-empty bowl in the kitchen.

As soon as he sits back down, Erica turns to face him better. "Don't you see, his empathetic personality is what makes David Tennant so great. He is able to connect with his companions on an entirely new level that no other doctor can even dream of reaching. Being able to feel genuine emotion and concern doesn't always make a person weak, you know." Erica explains before turning back toward the television and focusing back on her cereal.

It takes some time before Sheldon comes up with a response. During this time, Leonard quietly wakes up before going to take a shower. Eventually, Sheldon responds. "It doesn't make a person weak, but irrational empathy often leads to not well-thought out plans, poor timing, and ultimately bad decisions."

"Empathy also leads to a better understanding of the world as it is meant to be seen. It allows people to connect with each other on a truly emotional level that cannot be achieved otherwise, and ultimately allows people to have the ability to help and understand each other."

"What kind of psychological crap are you guys arguing about this early in the morning?" the newly awakened Monica asks, a yawn escaping her lips right after her words.

"It's nothing Monica. What are we going to do today since the guys have to work?"

"I guess we'll stay here, take the bus somewhere, or see if Penny wants to show us around. Either way, we really need some more clothes and essentials than what we have with us. Who knows when they are going to come get us and take us back."

"Yeah, plus I need a couple of leotards if we're planning on staying here for a while."

"Please tell me you aren't going to spend all your time at the gym like you do back home, Ricki." Monica pleads with a frown on her face and hands on her hips.

"You know I have to Nica. I am an Olympic performer; therefore I have to train at least a few hours a day every day."

"Ladies, please take this jibber jabber elsewhere. I am trying to watch my show before Leonard drives me to work."

"Don't worry; this conversation is finished because my spending a few hours training is nonnegotiable." Erica explains, slightly glaring at Monica while moving over to the sink to wash her bowl and spoon.

"Fine, but you really do spend too much time at the gym, sis." Monica says before fixing herself a bowl of cereal.

"As my sister, you really ought to understand why I spend so much time in the gym. I'm going over to Penny's to see if Natalie is done with her shower." Erica says before walking out of the apartment.

"Good morning, Monica and Sheldon. Where are Natalie and Erica?" Leonard asks, looking at Monica a bit longer than necessary before fixing himself a cup of coffee.

"Good morning, Leonard. Natalie went over to take a shower at Penny's apartment. Just recently, Erica went over there as well to see if Natalie was done with her shower after having an argument with her sister here about whether or not Erica should go to the gym while she is here in the current time period." Sheldon informs.

"Why do you not want Erica to go to the gym?" Leonard asks before taking a sip of his coffee.

"She spends way too much time at the gym is why. It's all because she is an 'Olympic performer'." Monica explains, rolling her eyes and putting air quotes around Olympic performer.

"She is an Olympic trainer? Wow, what is her sport?" Leonard asks, sounding completely shocked especially after their conversation the night before.

"She is a gymnast. She has been since she was seven years old. Apparently, she saw some older girls doing flips in the air during recess, and Erica really wanted to learn how to do that. She asked the girls how to learn, and they told her that she had to take gymnastics classes. Erica went home that very day and asked Mom if she could do it, and Mom let her since according to Mom, 'that was the first time Erica had ever expressed interest in anything besides school and books'. Erica went to her first class that lasted about two hours and came home in serious pain. I saw her that night and could tell that she wanted to quit. But Erica went to her second session the next day despite being so sore she could barely move. This went on for a couple more weeks before I saw that pain in her eyes change to pleasure. She started to love the sport, and the rest is history, I guess."

"How can she be a gymnast, though? Erica is at least 5'7, and gymnasts are usually really short."

"Erica is actually 5'8, and in our time, some female gymnasts are that tall and taller. I think it is sort of an evolution thing."

"Erica must've been lying about that girl being her twin sister. Then again, if that was the case for every family in which one sibling shows remarkably more intelligence than the other, I really was adopted." Sheldon mumbles under his breath before turning his attention back to the television.

"Well, I'm proud of her to stick with gymnastics for so long and even make it on the Olympic team. You should be very proud of your sister." Leonard says while washing his cup in the sink.

"Yeah, everyone is proud of her." Monica mutters before speaking to Leonard once more. "I don't think my sister would know who she was without gymnastics anymore. The sport is that much a part of her now."

"Well, we better get to work. Come on, Sheldon. If you girls need anything, just ask Penny." Leonard says before he and Sheldon walk out of the apartment.

Sighing, Monica washes her dishes and puts them where she found them before locking the apartment door, going over to Penny's apartment, and trying to open the door. It's locked so she knocks instead. After the third or fourth knock, a slightly wet-haired Natalie wearing a different outfit than yesterday opens the door.

"Good morning, Natalie Is Penny and the girls up, yet?" Monica asks, walking through the door after Natalie side-steps to let her in. She sees Olivia and Nikita, both sitting on the couch and watching some Jersey Shore rerun. 'That explains why I didn't hear them talking.' Monica thinks before turning her attention back to Natalie.

"Yeah, Penny was actually up when Erica came over here, and those two were up and channel surfing when I came over here at 6:30. Penny says this is the earliest she has ever been awake."

Monica looks at her watch: 8:50. "Erica left the apartment at around eight. When does this Penny usually get up?"

"I usually get up around 10 or 11. Since you girls are here, I thought I'd get up early and we'd have a girls' day." Penny explains, walking into the living from her bedroom.

"That's cool, Penny, but I will need to leave the group at around one or two so I can get in a few hours at the gym." Erica states, hair dripping from her shower and onto her towel.

"Okay, we better get started then." Penny says while clapping her hands together, happy at the thought of shopping.

"I'll just go take a shower then." Monica says before walking over to the bathroom.

"Let me get the hairdryer before you do that." Erica calls after her sister.

Monica walks back out, hairdryer in hand. She hands it to her sister before walking back into the bathroom. A few moments later, the girls hear the shower turn on.

"Erica, you can look through my clothes and see if something fits you if you don't want to wear your clothes from yesterday." Penny informs, looking at Erica.

Erica thanks Penny before walking into her bedroom. Penny looks at Natalie, thinking she looks almost exactly like Priya with pale skin. "So you're Leonard's daughter?"

Natalie looks slightly startled at the topic of conversation, but she answers anyway. "Yeah I am. Before you ask your second question, yes, Priya is my mother."

"It doesn't surprise me. You look almost exactly like her except for your pale skin. I'm not trying to be mean, Natalie. It's just Leonard is my current boyfriend right now, even though it's not going to last."

"Don't break up with Leonard because you know he ends up having a child with Priya! You could seriously change the future if you do that." Natalie exclaims, looking scared to death.

"Oh sweetie, it's not because of you and the girls showing up. I was thinking about breaking up with him anyway. Now that I know there is no future with him, it's given me that final push to break it off with him for good. We're much better off as friends anyway."

"Okay, just as long as it has nothing to do with us being here."

"Does he end up marrying her?"

"Of course, what kind of man do you think Leonard is?

"Point taken, do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"I have two brothers. One is sixteen and the other is fourteen. They both look more like my dad than I do."

"What are their names?"

"The oldest is Shawn Michael Hofstadter. He has the same eyes and skin color as me, but he has Dad's curly brown hair. The youngest is Isaac Lucas Hofstadter. He has Dad's hazel eyes, slightly dark skin from Mom, and he has dark brown hair, a mix between Mom and Dad." Natalie explains, her eyes lighting up as she does so.

"That's awesome. I have a brother and sister, but they are both older than me."

"Yeah, I've heard you talk about them before."

"Yeah, why does Erica need to go to the gym anyway?"

"She needs to train because she is an Olympic-level gymnast." Monica answers for Natalie, wet hair looking almost brown.

"Oh my god, Erica's a gymnast!" Penny exclaims, a wide smile crossing her face.

"Yeah, she is really good, too. She let me create a documentary of her a few years back as she had potential to become a part of the Olympic level team. It was my first video I ever created. I put it on YouTube as soon as I was done, and it went viral this summer because she actually competed in the Olympics for the first time this year." Olivia explains excitedly.

"That is so amazing! Did she win a medal?"

"I won a silver medal. My father has it locked up somewhere in the house so no one will be able to steal it." Erica answers while brushing her, now dry, hair.

"I bet Sheldon was proud of you, wasn't he?" Penny asks, smile now holding a hint of mischief.

"How did you figure it out?" Olivia asks, looking at Penny with wonder.

"Oh come on. You look somewhat like him, you act somewhat like him. You are certainly smart like him. Of course you have to be related to him. Not to mention, Erica Cooper and Monica Cooper are really pretty names." Penny explains, looking around for Monica.

"Where did Monica go?"

"Monica went to change clothes. She also probably didn't want to hear you guys talk about Erica's gymnastic career." Nikita speculates, not turning her attention away from the television.

"I don't understand my sister sometimes."

"Well, we better go if you still want to shop, Erica. At least I took the day off today."

A few minutes later, Monica comes out of Penny's room, her still wet hair pulled back in a low ponytail and the girls leave the apartment.

A few hours later and the girls are eating lunch at the mall. Erica takes a look at her new cell phone and gasps.

"What is it, Erica?" Natalie asks, looking at her friend with concern.

"It's already almost 2:00. I need to go if I'm going to get a few hours of training in. I'll meet you guys back at the apartment. Please remember to give my exact order to Leonard. Oh, and thank you for telling me where the gym was, Penny. I appreciate it." Erica says quickly before downing the last of her water, and grabbing her navy blue duffle bag full of her new leotard and supplies.

"It's no problem, sweetie, but are you sure you remember the address back?" Penny asks looking amused but slightly concerned.

"Are you kidding? Erica never forgets anything! It's just one of the girl's many gifts." Olivia exclaims, looking at Erica with pure, unadulterated admiration.

"I have to agree. Erica is one very special girl." Nikita agrees looking at Erica with a special glint in her brown eyes, a look that reminds Penny of Amy somewhat.

"I've got it Penny, thank you." Erica says once more before running off toward the entrance to the mall and essentially the bus station.

"I wish you guys would just give it a rest about Erica for once." Monica says before walking away as well.

"Trouble in Sister-land much?" Penny asks before turning to the remaining three girls who are looking slightly guilty at this point.

"They are not usually that way, but these times are coming a lot more frequently this year." Natalie explains, looking in the direction that Monica took off.

"Do they have any other siblings besides each other?"

"Yeah, they have a fifteen year old brother and sister, twins also." Nikita explains

"Do they fight with them too?" Penny asks, slightly shocked that Sheldon actually has four kids.

"No, Anna and Mason are really close to each other and almost as close to Erica and Monica. For some reason, Erica and Monica are the ones to fight the most. Their parents don't understand it either." Natalie answers, shaking her head.

"Well, what about you Olivia? Do you have any siblings? I know Howard wants kids, but Bernadette doesn't really right now."

Nikita snorts before laughing outright.

Penny turns her attention to the near-hysterical brunette. "What, pray tell, is so funny?"

Nikita just shakes her head and continues laughing for a few more minutes. Once she calms down, she answers. "Bernadette might not want kids right now, but it seems like she can't stop having kids in our time."

Penny just looks confused before Olivia explains. "What, Nikita is referring to," she glares at Nikita before continuing, "is my numerous siblings."

"Well, how many do you have?" Penny rephrases her question.

"I have one sister and three brothers." Olivia answers, still glaring at Nikita slightly.

"Aww, what are their names?"

"My sister's name is Laura, she's fourteen. My oldest brother is sixteen and his name is Timothy, Tim for short. I also have eight-year-old twin brothers named David and Aaron."

"That's amazing; please tell me Timothy takes more after your mother in personality." Penny, silently praying that there is not another generation of the pervert of Pasadena.

"He does. He also takes more after Mom in looks too."

"What about you, Nikita. Have any siblings?"

"I have a fourteen year old brother named Thomas."

"That's cool. Are you guys close with your siblings?"

Before everyone can answer at once, Nikita holds up her hand. This stops the other two from speaking right away. "It's like we have our group and they have theirs with David and Aaron Wolowitz being taken care of by everyone else."

"That's true, but at the same time, the younger group knows that anyone in it can come to anyone of us for advice when he/she doesn't want to go to Mom or Dad about it." Natalie adds.

"So you guys are like role models for the younger ones?" Penny asks, slightly surprised. It's not that she doesn't think this is a responsible group of teenagers. She just doesn't know very many teenagers who would willingly be role models for others.

"Yeah," they all answer.

"Well, is everyone ready to go find Monica and continue shopping?"

The girls agree, but just as they are getting up, they see Monica walking toward them. "No need to find me, but I am going back to Sheldon and Leonard's apartment. So, thanks for bringing me here, Penny, but I really need to be alone right now." with that, she walks away.

"Should we go after her?" Penny asks.

"No, when she says she wants to be alone, she means she wants to be alone." Natalie explains before walking toward Game Stop.

The group follows Natalie, but all of their minds are focused on the set of twins so different from each other.


	4. Ch 4 Alone Time with Leonard

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. Thank you guys for reading and commenting on my story!

As Monica walks up the three flights of stairs to make it to apartment 4A, she cannot help but think that maybe she was too harsh on the girls. It wasn't their faults, especially since she won't tell anyone what bothers her when it comes to her twin.

As she tries to open the apartment door, she finds that it is locked. Problem is, she doesn't have a key. "Dammit!" Monica shouts, hitting the offending door with her fist once before turning around and sliding down the wall. She puts her head in her hands as the tears she has been suppressing all day begin falling from her eyes.

As Monica silently cries, a whimper escaping every now and then, Leonard watches her from the staircase. Once he gets over the shock at seeing a product of Sheldon, the previously thought asexual physicist with no emotion, crying her eyes out for an unknown reason, he sits down beside her and, after some thought, puts his arm around her shoulders.

Monica, not even caring who it is anymore, leans her head on Leonard's shoulder and just cries. After a little while, she calms down enough to pull back and see who is comforting her.

"Leonard, what are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be at work?" she asks, wiping at her eyes.

"I spontaneously decided to come home early. Looks like it was a good thing I did. What's wrong anyway? This is the first time I've ever seen a Cooper shed tears like this." Leonard explains, letting his arm fall back to his side.

"You're not kidding. Erica hasn't cried over an injury since she was ten. It's like she doesn't even have the ability to cry anymore. Anna cries every once in a while, but only when she doesn't think anyone notices."

"Is Anna your little sister or something?"

"Yeah, she's fifteen. Our brother is too. Twins really do run in the family." Monica states, laughing a little at the end.

"Wow, who would've thought that insane Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper would end up having not one, but four kids naturally in the near future."

"Yeah, and with a girl like Penny no less." Monica agrees and the two laugh. They laugh until Leonard realizes something.

"Wait a minute, how did you know that I knew who your mother is?"

"I saw you staring at me this morning with a strange look in your eyes. It was almost like you couldn't believe how much I looked like her and how you didn't notice it until that very moment. You had to know something." Monica explains, looking at the experimental physicist as she does so.

"You are really perceptive."

"Yeah, I guess I did get a gift after all."

Leonard begins to stand before holding out a hand to help Monica up. "Want to go inside so you can tell me why you are here instead of with the others?"

After a moment, Monica accepts the hand and pulls herself up. Leonard uses his key to unlock the door before holding it open for Monica. Monica walks into the apartment and sits down on the couch. Leonard walks through and shuts the door behind himself before sitting down beside Sheldon's daughter. He waits for her to speak.

Eventually, she does. "Ever since I can remember, there has been something special about Erica. She was always at the top of the class, and could remember everything she had ever learned, even after she didn't need to remember it anymore. When our dad found out that Erica had an identic memory just like him, he was ecstatic. I had long since accepted that Erica was the smart one in the family. She could just comprehend things so easily that took me at least a week to figure out. Then, she found out about gymnastics. I remember thinking that she could never pull it off. You can't be ridiculously smart and good at sports too, right? I thought Erica was going to give up a month at most. But she stuck with it. The longer she stuck with it, the better she got and the more she fell in love with it.

For the first time ever at the age of twelve, Erica's grades started slipping, and my grades were higher. I was thrilled. At least, before Erica broke her arm for the first time ever because of gymnastics. During that time, Mom and Dad wanted to make her quit. When they told Erica this, she threatened to fail every test until they let her go back. Dad couldn't handle that so instead he made a deal with her. If Erica's grades drop below a B-average, she has to give up gymnastics for good. So her grades improved and within the month, she was back to training. Ever since, something between us was not quite right. I became jealous because Erica was special while I was just normal. Eventually, around the age of fourteen, some of the jealousy I felt changed into aggravation and worry. While I was going out on dates, Erica was either in the gym or doing homework. Erica couldn't even take time away from her precious sport and work to even find herself a boyfriend! She couldn't even eat a piece of cake without working out or practicing at least a half-hour afterwards. My dad was strange enough for all four of us, why did my own twin sister have to be too? Unfortunately for my fourteen and fifteen year old self, I was the only one who thought that way. Anna worshipped Erica while Mason was always exercising with her. The others loved to comment about how Erica helped them with something or how Erica was going to win a gold medal someday. No one ever talked about me that way unless it was about how I was the first one out of all four families to sleep with someone." by the end of her story, more tears had fallen from her dark blue eyes.

"So this is just a sibling rivalry thing?" Leonard asks, wiping a falling tear from her cheek.

"No, I'm also extremely worried about her. You always hear talk of gymnasts having eating disorders in order to stay thin as well as people who have become seriously injured or have even died because of gymnastics. I don't want my eccentric twin sister to become another statistic."

"I think Erica's too strong-minded to end up having an eating disorder. She may be a slight perfectionist, but she also has too brilliant of a mind to let that control her. As for the seriously injured thing, if Erica didn't know the risks when she started, she certainly knows by now, and she doesn't care."

"That's my point; she doesn't care if she gets hurt! Erica would have never put herself in that situation if she didn't start so young. Gymnastics has changed her." Monica screams before bursting into tears once more.

Leonard simply holds onto Monica until she calms down once more, rubbing her back and running a hand through her dirty blonde hair much like he used to do for the woman he thought he would marry one day. The universe sure does have a funny way of showing people when something is not meant to be, Leonard thinks fondly while holding onto the girl tighter.

Once Monica calms down enough to speak, she pulls away from Leonard. Leonard, taking the hint, scoots over to his own seat cushion.

"How can you possibly know that Erica wouldn't take risks with her health if she didn't start gymnastics so early?"

Wiping away the rest of her tears, she explains. "She's so much like Dad in almost every other way. Why wouldn't she be like him in this way too?"

At this, Leonard tries to stifle his laughter. Monica sees this and raises an eyebrow at him.

After the slight laughter leaves Leonard, he explains to Monica. "You honestly can't believe that Erica is some female Sheldon 2.0 can you? I've known the girl for almost twenty-four hours, and I can see some pretty remarkable differences between the two and not just physically."

"No I don't believe she is exactly like him, but she sure does act like a Sheldon 2.0 sometimes. Back home, they even finish each other's sentences."

"They do have many similarities," Leonard agrees, "but a fear of life and change is not part of it. The sport might have changed her, but it couldn't have changed her that much."

Monica sighs. "I guess you're right, but I do miss my dorky, freakishly smart sister who used to get up at 6:00 every single morning to watch _Doctor_ _Who_ with my dad, even when there wasn't school."

"_Doctor_ _Who_ comes on at 7:00 in the morning." Leonard states, looking at Monica questionably.

"It comes on at six in our time period." Monica explains.

"Oh, so I think we've talked enough about Erica. Let's talk about you. Erica is the freakishly smart and athletic girl so what are you?"

Monica blushes slightly. "Most people consider me to be the attractive girl. I'm smart too, but I'm just normally smart."

"Do you have any talents?"

"I like to think that I can sing, and people say I can sing, but I'm just not sure. It's not like I can hear myself sing the same way other people can."

"Well, do you know any songs?"

At this question, Monica actually looks somewhat offended. "Of course I've memorized a few songs. Music is like a safe haven for me. Whenever something is bothering me, I just listen to a song on the internet or my iPod, and it makes me feel better."

"Well, what kind of music do you listen to?"

"I listen to country and rock music, but I tend to feel more comfortable singing country music for some reason."

"Well, try singing a song, and I'll tell you if you're any good or not."

Monica looks suspicious for a moment. "You're not going to lie to me just to make me feel better, are you?"

"Of course not!"

She looks at him for a few moments more before nodding slowly. She then proceeds to sing _I Was Here_ by Lady Antebellum. Once she is done, Leonard just stares blankly at her for a few moments before clapping.

"That was beautiful, Monica. Where did you learn to sing like that?"

Monica looks like she is about to burst from happiness. "I've never taken singing classes so I guess I just taught myself. You really think I am a good singer?"

Before Leonard can speak, another voice enters the room. "Why did you leave work early, Leonard?"

Monica jumps, smile falling from her face, before turning around to see who spoke. "Da... I mean Sheldon, what are you doing home?"

Sheldon just looks at Monica with confusion. "This is the time I normally get home. And why were you about to call me Dad? I am not your father now or ever."

The first time Sheldon said such a thing, Leonard couldn't see if the words affected any of the girls. Now that he knows for sure that Sheldon's daughter is right in front of him, he sees exactly how much her own father's, even if he is technically not her father yet, words affected her.

"Oh come on, Sheldon!" Leonard shouts, standing up. "Look at her. She has your eyes for god's sake, and so does Erica. They are both tall like you, have blue eyes like you, and Erica even has your identic memory! Accept it Sheldon. In the not so distant future, you will be a father."

"Even if what you are proposing is, in fact, true, how could you possibly explain Monica's obviously natural blonde hair? There have been no blondes in my family ever recorded so how can I, a notable brunette in a family of only notable brunettes, in any way shape or form produce a natural blonde without her hair color being some form of genetic mutation?"

Leonard doesn't know what to say. Either way he answered Sheldon's question, he would reveal the identity of Monica's mother and Sheldon's future wife. He finally decides to give Sheldon the most monumental hint of the century, and if Sheldon guesses correctly, they will decide how to proceed. "Sheldon, her mother has blonde hair.

This seems to only confuse Sheldon further. "That is impossible. The only possible blondes are Bernadette and Penny, and Bernadette is obviously going to marry Howard."

The only response Sheldon gets is two people looking pointedly at him.

Once Sheldon realizes what the look means, he starts twitching slightly. "No," they just stare. "But that is absurd. Penny and I are just friends; we cannot possibly have a romantic relationship, let alone one that would produce offspring."

Before either of them can rebuttal, another voice joins the conversation. "There is only one way to know for sure."

The three turn around to see Amy Farrah Fowler standing at the still open door with Penny, Natalie, Nikita, and Olivia behind her, the latter three covering their faces with their hands.

"What are you suggesting, Amy Farrah Fowler?" Sheldon is the first to speak.

"I am obviously suggesting a DNA test. Though, I really don't see why you would need it. I have often wondered about the possibilities of time travel as well as the possibility of your and my besties' platonic relationship actually having the potential to turn into something more. I think this beautiful young girl whom looks so much like Penny, with the exception of her eyes, standing in the middle of your living room is proof enough for both prospects." Amy says in her monotone voice before walking the rest of the way into the living room.

The three teenagers follow with their bags even though they look like they would rather do anything but. The last to enter the apartment and shut the door is Penny, her tan face not changing. Once she is in the middle of the apartment, she speaks. "Why didn't anyone bother to mention that I have not one, not two, but _four_ kids with Dr. Wackadoodle Sheldon Cooper?" She exclaims, her voice getting higher and louder toward the end of her question.

"I'm guessing that this is a bad time to come over for dinner?" the voice of Howard Wolowitz floods the slightly cramped apartment.

The entire group turns to see the aforementioned man standing there with his fiancée and best friend, the boys looking shocked but not nearly as shocked as the future Mrs. Wolowitz.

Bernadette, obviously wondering how much her friend had been drinking this early in the day, asks, "What do you mean, Penny?"

So the group, excluding Raj, explains everything to the two women. After about a half-hour, the group turns silent, looking at their reactions. While Amy shows almost no emotion, Bernadette looks almost nauseous. "So you are mine and Howie's daughter?" she asks, looking at Olivia for an answer.

At her nod, Bernadette asks her another question, turning greener by the word. "How many siblings did you say you have?"

Olivia looks extremely nervous as she answers. "I have one sister and three brothers."

"Why should we believe you, any of you?" Bernadette asks, now looking at all four of the girls instead of just her daughter.

Olivia looks like she is about to cry so Nikita drops her own bags, turns her best friend around and holds onto her while rubbing circles into her back.

It is Natalie who answers, much to the shock of the other girls. "How can you not believe us? Monica looks almost exactly like Penny with the exception of her eyes, Nikita and I have the exact same shade of eyes as Raj and Priya, Sheldon even said so himself. If Erica was here right now, there would be no mistaking her for Sheldon's daughter. We would not have come all of this way just to pull some elaborate scheme on some of the most brilliant minds in the universe. We may not be complete geniuses, but we are certainly not stupid by any means."

After a few moments of stunned silence, Sheldon speaks. "Hofstadter is correct. There is absolutely no mistaking these girls as our daughters. Even I cannot keep denying it any longer. The DNA test will no longer be needed, Amy. There is no denying the fact that sometime in the future, I will be married to Penny and have two aesthetically-pleasing and bright girls."

After a moment, Monica cannot help it any longer. She jumps over to Sheldon and hugs him as tightly as she can, despite her future father being stiff as a board. After a few minutes, Sheldon loosens up a bit and hugs her back, albeit a little awkwardly. Soon enough, they let go of each other only to have someone else take Monica's place.

Erica Cooper had just come from the gym only to hear the sweetest thing, coming from Sheldon anyway. Not thinking, she drops her bags and walks over to her dad and sister just as they stop hugging, only to take her sister's place. Father and daughter hug for a few seconds before they let go too.

"Now that we are all finally on the same page, do all of the people from this time period want the usual?" Leonard asks, car keys in hand.

"Tonight's Chinese, right?" Olivia asks, finally letting go of Nikita.

"Yes," almost the entire apartment answers.

"Okay, okay, no need to get snippy." Olivia says, exasperated.

The girls give Leonard their orders as he writes them down. "How am I supposed to carry all of this by myself?"

Penny is the first to answer. "I'll go with you and help you carry it."

The two leave the apartment together before anyone can protest. The walk down the stairs to the car is relatively silent. It is not until both are in the car and driving toward the Chinese restaurant does someone say something. "So how do you feel about knowing that you're going to be Mrs. Penny Cooper one day in the near future?"

Penny sighs. "Honestly, I can't believe it. I never thought Sheldon would even have a kid, let alone with me. If he would ever get married, I always assumed it would be to Amy especially since he's closest to her."

At this Leonard actually turns to her the best he can without wrecking the vehicle. "Are you really sure that it is Amy whom he is closest to? Think about it Penny, you are the only person he has willingly hugged outside of family. He might kiss Amy, but not willingly so. You take care of him during his darkest hour, and he even returns the favor! If he is close to anyone, he is close to you."

Leonard glances at Penny to see her thinking really hard about what he just said. "Okay, I see your point, but I still don't see how that means he would be willing to sleep with me at some point."

"Well, he obviously cares for you and trusts you. I don't see him willing to try anything of that sort with anyone but you, actually."

The rest of the ride to the restaurant is silent. They pick up the food as well as Sheldon's extras before heading back to the apartments. When they reach the top step, food in hand, Leonard turns to Penny. "I guess this means we're done, right?"

Penny turns to Leonard and hugs him. "Yeah, it does sweetie. If it's any consolation, we wouldn't have lasted much longer even if our kids didn't suddenly show up."

"Oh, yeah that makes me feel much better." Leonard says sarcastically, his face softening afterwards.

"Promise me that we're still friends, Leonard. I don't want to lose you from my life forever." Penny pleads with him, her face still on his shoulder.

"I promise," Leonard says before kissing her once on the lips.

"I think I'm going to miss doing that the most." he says before walking into the apartment.

Penny finds herself wiping away one stray tear as she says, "Me too," before following suit.

When she enters the apartment, half of the group is already eating while Sheldon antagonizes Leonard about his food. She puts the other bag of food on the table, taking hers out of it as the other half follows her lead. Eventually, Sheldon accepts Leonard's answers and begins eating as well.

There is no other noise in the room other than the sounds of people eating from every seat in the apartment and some on the floor until a sound from Leonard's computer breaks the semi-silence.

"That sounds like the video chat." Leonard states, looking confused as he makes his way to the laptop in his room.

During the few minutes he is gone, Sheldon gets a text message. As he answers it, Leonard walks back into the room with a slight smile on his face. "Hey, Raj did you know that your sister was thinking about coming back to Pasadena, permanently?"

Raj just shakes his head no. 'Poor guy', Amy thinks, 'I really hope I can help him overcome his selective mutism'.

"Well, apparently she was thinking about it, and she is going to be in Pasadena tomorrow."

The majority of the room is focused on Leonard, but Leonard himself along with the girls from the future are focused on Natalie whom looks about ready to pass out at any moment. If Leonard had any doubt concerning Natalie's mother, it goes away when he sees the look on Natalie's face. She looks _terrified_.

"Interesting, Missy just text me and told me that she will arrive tomorrow as well." Sheldon replies, not noticing the, now three, girls holding their breaths around him.


	5. Ch 5 Sibling Arrivals

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. Thank you guys for reading and commenting on my story! ~

The next morning, Erica finds herself awakened by Sheldon Cooper at 5:00 in the morning. She moans lightly before turning around and facing him.

"Why the hell are you waking me up?" Erica half mumbles, not even caring enough to sensor her language around her father.

"Do you know how to drive?" Sheldon asks quietly, ignoring her tone and language for the time being.

"Yes, Sheldon. Why, in the name of whatever deity that created this world or the world itself, did you feel the need to wake me up just to ask me such a mundane and, at the moment, idiotic question?" Erica bites each of her words out, not in the least bit happy about being woken up when she was planning on sleeping in.

"Missy just called me and woke both me and Monica up. How it did not wake you, Leonard, and Natalie is beyond me. She would not explain why, but she got on a very early flight for Pasadena, and will be here within the hour. Monica is afraid to drive with it still dark outside, and I don't want to bother Leonard and Penny with it after their agreement to keep their relationship purely platonic. They tend to be less agreeable in the aftermath of such events. Monica said that I should wake you."

Erica sighs while sitting up from her place on the floor, knowing that she will not be getting anymore sleep anytime soon. "Fine, give me a few minutes to get ready. Is Monica coming with us since I assume you are coming?"

Sheldon looks affronted. "Of course I am going with you! In no universe would I let a seventeen year old girl, much less my daughter, drive to the airport at five in the morning by herself. Not to mention, Missy wouldn't answer to you. She may not be intelligent, but she isn't that intellectually impaired. I hope."

Erica just stares at him. It is too early in the morning for even her to be able to comprehend Sheldon's wordiness. "A simple yes would have sufficed."

After this, Sheldon leaves the bedroom so Erica can get ready. Hoping to whatever deity that will listen to her for Leonard to not wake up, she changes clothes as quickly and as silently as possible. Once she is done, she goes to the bathroom to freshen up. Once she is done without even bothering to put on makeup, she walks into the living room to find her father and sister sitting on office chair and recliner respectively, already dressed with a still sleeping Natalie on the couch.

"Did you change clothes in Leonard's room?" Sheldon asks as if it is the most normal question in the world to ask a teenage girl at five in the morning.

"Yes, why?" Erica asks, cocking her head to the side as she struggles to not fall asleep where she stands.

"You could have saved yourself time and worry if you had just changed clothes in the restroom instead of changing clothes when you were worried about Leonard waking up and seeing you in a less than decent state."

Erica doesn't even acknowledge the smarter-than-thou tone of voice Sheldon uses, opting instead to get Leonard's car keys. "Did you leave a note for Leonard?"

"Of course," Sheldon answers.

Erica just nods and says, "Are you two ready to go?"

They just nod and stand, Monica looking more tired than Erica feels. Erica doesn't even know if Monica's eyes are open as they lock the apartment door and descend the stairs. When they walk outside, they see something shocking.

"Penny what are you doing outside this early?" Sheldon asks curiously.

He clearly startles her as she jumps nearly a meter high. When she finally realizes who it is, she relaxes somewhat. "Sweetie, I just couldn't sleep, and I didn't want to wake the girls so I came out here hoping that fresh air would help."

"Penny, it's not safe for a woman to be outside at this time of night alone." Sheldon chastises, genuine concern showing in his eyes. "Is your insomnia derived from your relationship with Leonard being terminated?"

"No we're still friends. He didn't say that he didn't want to be friends anymore, did he? He made a promise…"

Sheldon interrupts before Penny can completely freak out. "I was merely talking about your romantic relationship being terminated, not your platonic relationship."

At this, Penny takes a deep breath and relaxes completely. "Ok, but what are you guys doing out here?"

"Sheldon's sister is apparently flying in early for some reason that she wouldn't tell Sheldon on the phone. He asked me to drive him since Monica still doesn't like driving in the dark, and he didn't want to bother you or Leonard while you're both in the fragile stages of the after-break up scenario." Erica answers, somehow gaining enough strength to sound like the true Cooper she is.

"Sheldon," Penny exclaims, looking back and forth between Sheldon and Erica. "You cannot expect a seventeen year old who has been driving, how long?"

"I've been driving since I was fourteen." Erica answers, a yawn chasing her words.

"Exactly, you cannot expect someone who has been driving for only three years to drive when she is clearly not focused enough."

"What do you propose we do then?" Sheldon asks, looking anywhere but Penny and Erica.

"I'll drive, you ride shotgun, and the girls sleep in the back seats." Penny answers as if it is the simplest solution in the world.

"Fair enough, shouldn't you warn Olivia and Nikita just in case they wake up to find you gone?"

"I left them a note saying that I was outside, and if they need anything, to ask you or Leonard. They shouldn't wake anytime soon, though."

"Fair enough, we better go or else my sister is going to be in a strange airport by herself. Even though I have no doubt that she can protect herself, I have no idea what state of mind she is going to be in." Sheldon states before climbing into the newly unlocked passenger seat and buckling up.

Erica hands the keys to Penny before sleepily sitting in the back seat. Monica follows and falls asleep before she can put her seatbelt on. Erica buckles her sister up before doing the same to herself and falling asleep on her sister's shoulder.

Penny climbs into the driver's seat, buckles up, and begins driving. Most of the ride is silent except for the sound of breathing. Eventually, Penny speaks. "Why did you not agree to take the DNA test to prove they were yours and mine?"

"Once Leonard stood up to me about it, I began to study them, and I deemed the DNA test unnecessary because they are so much like me. And you." Sheldon answers, electing to look out the window instead of at Penny.

"Are you okay with this? Having kids with me at some point, I mean."

"I hardly have a choice in the matter. The fact that they are here is proof enough that they will be born, regardless of if I'm okay with it."

"So that's a no."

Sheldon looks exasperated. "Penny, I don't know if I'm okay with it now, but the fact that they are here proves that I apparently will be at some point. What did you say about having four kids with me last night?"

"When Monica and Erica left the mall after fighting, Erica went to the gym as she was supposed to and Monica went home, I asked the other girls if they had any other siblings besides each other. They told me that they have a little brother and little sister, both fifteen."

"They are twins as well, I presume."

"Yeah," Penny says, slightly tearing up but with a smile on her face.

"I wonder how we achieved coitus." Sheldon says, finally managing to somewhat go back to his robot state.

"Please do not call it coitus. It is sex. Call it sex if you are going to mention it at all."

"Fine, I wonder how we ended up having sex."

"I don't know. I wonder if we were dating when it happened. I also wonder if we are happy together in the future."

"We can always ask them if we are. As Monica put it the first day, we've screwed it up enough just by coming here. We can't screw it up much more." Sheldon says in an almost perfect imitation of Monica.

"Yeah, what are you going to tell Missy?"

Sheldon looks dumbfounded. 'Well, that is certainly not a good look for him,' Penny thinks. "Oh dear, I did not think of that. I suppose we'll have to tell her the truth."

"Yeah, I guess so. Why did she get such an early flight, anyway?"

"She wouldn't say, but I'll admit she sounded strange. She sounded almost frightened." Sheldon says, looking at Penny out of the corner of his eye.

"You don't think she could be in trouble, do you?"

"At this point, Penny, I cannot be sure. Dear lord, this is strange. How do you common folk deal with this?"

"Deal with what, Sheldon?"

"How do you people deal with not knowing anything?"

"Not all of us need to know the secrets of the universe, Sheldon." Penny explains, her hands gripping the steering wheel a little tighter.

"I cannot fathom why. This universe holds their entire existence so why not try to understand it a bit more."

"Some people just don't see things the way you do sweetie."

"Why do you call me sweetie?" Sheldon asks suddenly, almost making Penny hit the breaks in the middle of the road.

"Excuse me?"

"You have called me sweetie since the first day you met me. Why do you call me sweetie?"

"I call everyone sweetie."

"Yes, but your tone of voice is different when you call me sweetie as opposed to when you call anyone else sweetie."

While driving, Penny tries to pick up her lower jaw from where it fell to the bottom of the vehicle. How did a guy who didn't understand sarcasm possibly pick up a different tone of her voice? "Well, I don't know the answer to that, Sheldon."

"I kind of figured you wouldn't, but I thought I would ask anyway."

"While we are asking each other questions, why did you sound so concerned for me back at the apartments?"

Penny sees Sheldon twitch slightly and almost feels bad for asking him, but she seriously does want to know the answer.

"I was worried because you were outside at night by yourself for an unknown amount of time. Anything could have happened to you, even with your massive strength for a female and tough Nebraskan attitude. As much as I would like to be like Mr. Spock in every way possible, even I can admit to having human emotion from time to time."

Penny feels touched. In the entire time that she has known him, she has never known him to admit to having actual human emotion to anyone before. She can't believe how much trust he must have for her to actually be able to tell her something like this.

The rest of the drive is silent, and the girls don't move once while their parents spend the rest of their time looking at each other before turning away once more. Once the car is parked, Erica finally wakes up. Silently, she rubs her eyes to open them before punching her sister in the same shoulder she was sleeping on moments before. Monica instantly wakes, screaming, "Danger! Danger!"

Penny and Erica are trying to stifle their laughter, but it is clearly not working. Monica, on the other hand, is breathing heavily and resembling an angry bear more than a human. "I ought to kill you." She managed to wheeze out with her heavy breaths.

"I was wondering where Sheldon's big basket of crazy went when we made you two." Penny states, laughing even harder.

"Oh, that's nothing. You should see Anna. She is an extreme neat freak. She's not nearly as bad as Dad, but she can be pretty close sometimes." Erica says, finally quieting down enough to talk before she starts giggling uncontrollably again.

Meanwhile, Sheldon asks Monica, "Are they always like this in your time?"

"Not usually as bad. They do like to make fun of me for being the only one that actually wakes up the same way you do, though."

After Penny and Erica calm down, they all get out of the car and lock it before making their way into the airport.

They are just in time for Missy's airplane to land. They sit in the waiting area as they wait for Missy to come through the baggage claim. Once she sees them, she starts running toward Sheldon. Sheldon stands just as Missy gets to him and pulls him into a hug.

"Thank… you… for coming." She wheezes out, as if she can't breathe.

"It was no problem Missy. Where are your bags?" Sheldon asks with almost forced politeness. 'There is something wrong with her,' he thinks as he tries to smile convincingly.

Before Missy can answer, she passes out in Sheldon's arms. Sheldon catches her before she can fall to the floor before lowering her to it quickly.

Penny and Monica gasp as Erica hurries to help her father. Sheldon feels Missy's chest, right where her heart is. He then pulls up her pink top completely to show the bruises are on her chest.

"Her ribs are broken, and she may have punctured a lung. Someone call 911." Sheldon announces, causing further panic within the two blondes.

"On it," Erica, the only sane person left, calls 911 using her cell phone. Thank god for irrationally bringing a cell phone so early in the morning, she thinks.

Sheldon rolls up his sister's sleeves, revealing fingerprint-shaped bruises. Erica and Sheldon just look at each other.


	6. Ch 6 Missy's Problem

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. Thank you guys for reading and commenting on my story! I really appreciate it. ~

It seems like forever before the ambulance finally arrives to pick Missy up. During that time, Penny calms down enough to call everyone and inform them of the situation. They instantly agree to meet up with them at the hospital. Monica, however, is holding onto her twin for dear life as she sobs into Erica's pulled back hair. Erica is holding onto her sister too, but she is relatively in control of her emotions. Sheldon is still on the floor holding his own twin, trying to stabilize her the best he can. He doesn't even seem to notice the silent tears running down his face.

Two paramedics with a gurney run up to them. "Excuse us, sir." the shorter of the two says, pushing Sheldon out of the way.

"I can help, she's my sister." Sheldon exclaims as he unthinkingly tries to fight the paramedic.

Seeing that Sheldon is not going to relent easily, Penny tries to pull him away. "Come on, sweetie, you're not doing Missy any favors by keeping this nice man from doing his job."

Once Sheldon hears Penny's voice, he lets her pull him away. "She has a few broken ribs, and one of them may have punctured her lung."

The two look at each other. Apparently the dispatcher didn't think that a teenager could possibly know what was wrong with someone.

They quickly, but carefully, pick her up and put her on the waiting gurney. The taller of the two asks, "What is her name?"

"Missy Cooper," Sheldon answers in a slightly shaky voice.

"Stay with us, Missy. You're going to be alright."

Missy moans slightly but still doesn't open her eyes.

The group of four follows the paramedics outside to the ambulance, Erica practically carrying Monica and Penny not letting go of Sheldon's hand for one second.

When Sheldon sees them shutting the doors of the ambulance, he speaks once more. "Let me ride with you."

The paramedics just look at each other. After all, Sheldon did tell them about Missy's broken ribs. Maybe he could be of some help after all.

The taller of the two, seeing what the shorter one is thinking, sighs before saying, "Hop in, but only you. You girls will have to find another way to the hospital."

He wordlessly follows the paramedics into the ambulance taking his sister to the emergency room. As they speed away, the girls race to the car.

"Penny, are you sure you are able to drive?" Erica asks, looking at her future mother worriedly.

"I'm fine, Erica." Penny reassures as she unlocks the car doors.

Erica gets into the passenger side while Monica gets in the back. Both girls are crying at this point.

When they get to the hospital, the ambulance along with their friends are already there. The girls immediately park and run inside. There they see the rest of the group looking like they are barely coherent, which is most likely true. The worst one of all is, of course, Sheldon. He looks absolutely catatonic with tears still running down his face.

"What's her status?" Penny asks Leonard, the only one who seems at least somewhat coherent.

"She has three broken ribs, and her left lung is punctured. We'll find out more when she is out of surgery. Mary and George have been informed, but they cannot afford to fly over here at this time. Apparently, most of their money was spent helping Mary's church, buying George Whiskey, and sending Missy herself over here." Leonard says, paying more attention to the now almost hysterical Sheldon than the silently crying Penny.

"That is awful." Penny exclaims quietly while Monica, not being able to stand it any longer, sits down besides Sheldon and hugs him. Sheldon, probably for the first time since he was a toddler, doesn't even think as he pulls out of her arms only to turn and wrap his arms around her better. They cry silently into each other's shoulders.

Penny sits down in between Raj and Amy and starts crying into the crooks of her arms. Raj, after looking around the room a couple of times, awkwardly begins rubbing Penny's back.

"Oh, bestie," Amy says in her monotone voice before hugging her from the side, tears falling from her own eyes.

"Come on, Erica. Stop trying to be the strong one for once." Olivia says from her side of the waiting room, her light brown eyes red-rimmed.

Not even trying to form a response, Erica slowly sits down in the chair beside one of her best friend's before holding onto her and crying her eyes out.

It is almost two in the afternoon before a doctor walks in to the waiting room full of sleeping people. Sighing, he walks over to the only known family member before tapping him lightly on the shoulder. Sheldon is too exhausted to even wake up the correct way, his emotional turmoil from before taking so much out of the slightly neurotic physicist.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Cooper. I trust you would like to know about your sister?" the doctor asks.

"Of course I would." Sheldon answers, his voice going a few decibels higher than normal as if to prove his point.

"She is finally stable and will most likely pull through. We will not know for sure until she wakes up. Her lung is patched up, and her ribs are set."

"Can I see her?" Sheldon asks, sounding like a complete child.

"Of course, but only one person should be in the room at one time."

Sheldon doesn't need to be told twice. Not even taking the time to thank the doctor or to wake the others, he practically runs down the hallway to his sister's room. The sight of her on the bed shocks him. Sure, on some level he knew that she would have tubes running through her, but nothing could have prepared him for the actual sight of it. He has never seen her look so fragile. He didn't notice before, but she had cut her hair to shoulder-length even though she had clearly told him when they were children that she never wanted her hair cut that short. Bruises, small and big, new and old, cover almost every visible inch of her body aside from her face. Sheldon goes back to the memory of Missy running up to him. She didn't even bring luggage, Sheldon remembers.

He sits in Missy's room for an unknown amount of time. It is almost like time does not exist within the confines of the hospital room. He doesn't even notice the nurse checking her vitals until she informs him that the others have been updated. He had never been in the position of being Missy's protector. It was usually vice versa. Now that it is her unconscious in a hospital room with Sheldon watching over her, he doesn't know what to think. Finally, he decides to let someone else sit with Missy for a while. He doesn't think he can stand looking at his uncommonly brittle-looking sister without either completely breaking down or going utterly mad.

So he walks into the waiting room to see the entire group, including Priya, staring at him.

"When did she get here?" Sheldon asks, trying to sound his old self and failing miserably.

"Raj picked me up from the airport a half an hour ago. I am so sorry about your sister, Sheldon." Priya answers sincerely in her slight Indian accent.

"Thank you, Priya. It was a good thing that Penny and Erica both offered to drive me to the airport this morning, or else I fear she wouldn't have survived." Sheldon states, his voice hitching slightly.

"Yes, that brings me back to my questions: who are these girls and why are they here with you guys?" Priya asks, looking around the room as if the answers are written on the walls.

Howard sighs loudly in the now quiet room. "Leonard, take her outside and tell her already. I never thought I would say this, but I am tired of hearing her voice ask the same things over and over."

"Why should I tell her? She's Raj's sister; he should tell her." Leonard says clearly annoyed. It is apparent to everyone that the argument has been going on for a while.

"Well, I certainly feel wanted." Priya says sarcastically while folding her arms over her chest, trying to hide the hurt caused by Leonard acting the way he is.

"Priya, it is not that you're not wanted. It is just that no one wants to see your reaction to our explanation as to why the girls are here. I know I didn't react well at all." Bernadette, ever the peace-maker, says while looking at Olivia apologetically. Olivia just smiles back.

Raj whispers something into Howard's ear while shaking his head no repeatedly. "I agree with Raj, you know exactly why you should be the one to explain this to Priya so why don't you go and explain it to her so we all can be on the same page here and focus on Sheldon's sister."

Leonard clearly doesn't know what to say to that. He reluctantly stands up and walks extremely slowly to the front door of the hospital. Natalie sighs and stands as well. "Do you want me to come and help you?"

"Yes," Leonard answers instantly.

"Subtle, Leonard," Priya comments but follows the two nevertheless. Once outside, father and daughter stare at each other whereas unsuspecting mother sits on the bench and watches. Eventually, she gets tired of not having an explanation and clears her throat.

Leonard and Natalie stop looking at each other in favor of looking at Priya. "I thought you were supposed to explain to me why there are five teenage girls in the same waiting room waiting on the same person as six scientists and a waitress."

"Oh, right. Um…" Leonard says, looking at Natalie with hope shining in his hazel eyes. Natalie just shakes her head and mouths, just tell her.

Leonard sighs deeply. "Okay, fine. I'll just be straight forward with you, Priya. These girls are from the future."

The tension is palpable and the silence insufferable until Priya laughs. Priya laughs so hard that it looks like she might fall off of the stone bench she is sitting on. It takes a few minutes, during which Leonard and Natalie just stare at her, until Priya finally calms down. "I've missed your sense of humor Leonard, but seriously, why are they here?"

Leonard looks at Natalie desperately. "He's telling the truth Priya. We are from the future, even Sheldon believes us."

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but I just cannot believe that five teenage girls are from the future. It does not make sense."

"Quite a bit in the universe does not make sense and most scientists in this time period believe that time travel will one day be possible. My friends and I just happen to be from a point in time in which time travel is possible."

"Even if I could believe that, who would let teenagers test a time travel machine?" Priya asks, her hands on her hips as if she is about to scold a young child for lying.

"Our fathers are the men who created the time machine and some of us even worked on it with them. Just because we are teenagers, doesn't mean we are completely incompetent." Natalie says, barely able to look her future mother in the eye.

"I helped create a time machine?" Leonard exclaims with a huge smile on his face before realizing what he had said.

Priya turns her attention to him, standing as she does so, while Natalie just buries her dark haired head in her arms. "What are you talking about, Leonard?"

"That's another part I was supposed to tell you. They coming to meet us was not accidental. They showed up at mine and Sheldon's apartment when Raj, Howard, and Penny were there a couple days ago and explained to us that they were from the future and that they were our daughters. We've recently found out that Erica and Monica are Sheldon's and Penny's, Olivia is Howard's and Bernadette's, Nikita is Raj's and Amy's, and Natalie here is my daughter. At first, we didn't believe them, but they gave us a pretty convincing argument." Leonard explains quickly, looking at the ground.

"Why didn't you say who Natalie's mother was since you seem to believe these five girls?"

Now, Natalie looks up at her parents. She looks like she is about to run away at any time, but instead she sits down on the stone bench Priya previously occupied.

Leonard doesn't know what to say. Should he just make up a lie that he doesn't know who he marries and has kids with? Penny told him that he and Priya ended up having two more kids after Natalie so it is obvious that he ends up marrying her. How would she react to having met her future daughter almost an hour ago? Eventually Leonard makes a decision. He straightens his back and looks Priya dead in the eyes. "I didn't tell you who Natalie's mother was because I wasn't sure how you would react."

Priya looks startled for a moment. Since when did Leonard act like that? "Why would I react bad…"

Leonard interrupts her before he completely loses his nerve. "It's you, Priya. You're Natalie's mother."

For the first time since she arrived in Pasadena, Priya is completely speechless. She simply looks away from Leonard to look at Natalie. The two lock eyes with each other. Ever since Priya first enrolled in law school, she could tell when people are lying. It might as well have been part of the job description. One look into Natalie's brown eyes, so much like her own she realizes with a shock, instantly tells Priya that the young woman is not lying. And neither is Leonard.

"I've got to sit down." Priya says, sitting down beside Natalie as she does so.

"Does that mean you believe us?" Leonard asks with a slight smile on his face as he does so.

"I guess I have to. One of my skills as a lawyer is to be able to tell when people are lying, and neither of you are lying." Priya says almost paralyzed from shock.

Natalie takes this moment to silently slip back into the hospital where her friends are waiting nervously.

Leonard, seeing Natalie go back into the hospital, sits down beside Priya and tentatively rubs her back. Priya exhales before leaning into her future husband. She would never allow him to be anything else if they have a child together.

"She looks a lot like you, you know." Leonard breathes into her straight, black hair. He's missed holding her like this, he calmly realizes.

"Yeah, I noticed. She has pale skin, though. I can't imagine how my parents will react to that." Priya states in a dreadful voice.

"Obviously, when the time comes, you won't care what your parents will think."

"What makes you think that?" she asks with a doubtful look on her face.

"Penny and Natalie had a chat yesterday. Apparently, we have two kids after Natalie. If you still cared about what your parents thought, we wouldn't have two boys after our girl."

"We seriously have three children in the future? What about Penny, I thought Raj said you two were back together." she asks, turning her head to look at Leonard a bit more.

"We were for a little while, but it just wasn't working out for either of us. The girls miraculously showing up only shortened our doomed relationship a little bit."

"When did you break up with her?"

"I broke up with her yesterday, but I'm telling you right now that if we get back together, you can't ask me to stop talking to her. There is absolutely no chance for us to get back together so there is no reason for you to be jealous of her. I'm sorry, but she is my friend, and I don't want to stop being her friend." Leonard says quickly so as to not lose his nerve again.

"Are you drunk, Leonard?" Priya asks so suddenly that Leonard cannot help but chuckle a little bit.

"No, I think that suddenly being put into the role of parent has done wonders for my confidence." Leonard says slightly smug.

"I think I like this new, confident Leonard." Priya says before slowly leaning forward and kissing Leonard.

He kisses her back before pulling away just enough to say, "I'll have to make sure he sticks around then."

The two continue kissing for a while, neither in a hurry, until Leonard catches Erica's blue eyes.

He breaks away from Priya, startled. "Sorry to interrupt, but Missy just woke up."


	7. Ch 7 Nikita's Story

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. Thank you guys for reading and commenting on my story! I really appreciate it. WARNING: this chapter is pretty dark, and if you don't like that kind of thing, I'm sorry. Hope you enjoy it, nevertheless.

Leonard and Priya look at each other as Erica rushes back into the hospital. "I've got to go, Priya. Are you coming with me?" Leonard asks, already on his feet and ready to head back in.

Priya just nods and gets to her feet too. They head back in to find Sheldon fidgeting in a chair, looking toward Missy's room.

"What's going on?" Leonard asks, unconsciously wrapping his arm around Priya. Natalie smiles as she sees her parents.

"The doctors are checking Missy over and asking her some questions." Penny answers, looking at poor Dr. Wackadoodle.

As soon as the words leave Penny's mouth, the doctor walks out into the waiting room. He had long figured out that everyone in the waiting room was waiting on the same person so he doesn't even motion any of them forward. Instead he says, "Missy will be okay. You can go see her, but only two at a time."

"Oh thank the lord!" Sheldon exclaims, his Texan accent shining as he sprints toward his sister's room.

Surprisingly, it is Nikita who gets to her feet first and runs after the insane ex-Texan. She finds him in tears by his sister's bedside, holding onto her arm tightly. Missy, who is just watching Sheldon cry helplessly, turns to Nikita as soon as she enters.

"Just who the heck are you, darlin'?" Missy asks as she slowly pats Sheldon on the back.

Sheldon finally calms down enough to see who Missy is referring to. "Missy, you are not well enough to know who she is. Just know that she is a trustworthy friend for now."

Missy just looks at the teenager as if she can possibly know what her deranged twin is rambling about this time. "Let's just say that the reason my friends and I are here can be really shocking, especially for someone who has just had surgery, and we are also not going to harm you in any way."

"Okay?" Missy asks a bit questionably before shrugging her shoulders the best she can without hurting herself.

"Missy, are you in pain? Should I call a nurse because it would be no trouble…"

"Sheldon," Missy cuts him off, "I'm fine, or as fine as I can be anyway. You don't have to worry about me, Sheldon. I'm tough." She finishes, her voice going slightly higher than normal, as if she is not entirely telling the truth.

Nikita cannot bear hearing her speak anymore. "Sheldon, I hate to sound rash but can you please leave?"

"Why, she's my sister?" Sheldon asks defensively.

"I really need to discuss something private with her. Please, Sheldon." Nikita says pleadingly.

"Oh, alright, but please inform me when you are done." and with that, he walks out of the room.

"What is your name, darlin" Missy asks, trying to sit up the best she can.

"My name is Nikita. Missy, I'm going to ask you a few really personal questions, and I want you to answer me honestly, okay?" Nikita replies, sitting down in the seat beside her as she does so.

"Okay," Missy answers cautiously, looking around the room instead of at Nikita.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

Missy immediately tenses up at the question but answers anyway. "Yes, I do. His name is Michael."

"How long have you two been together?"

"We've been together for almost a year. What's with all the questions? You're starting to sound like someone who talks to crazy people for a livin'."

"Well, my mother is a neurobiologist so I guess it's somewhat in my blood. Now, I'm going to stop beating around the bush and ask you what I've wanted to ask you all day. Has Michael ever hit you?" Nikita asks, her eyes filling up with tears as she leans in closer to Missy.

Missy instantly becomes defensive. "Of course he doesn't hit me. He loves me, and if he did hit me, it would probably be my fault."

Nikita stands up so abruptly that her chair falls backward. "It is never your fault if a guy hits you, and that answers my question more than anything because it proves that he has hit you and brainwashed you too."

Missy shrinks back a little at the tone of Nikita's voice and the tears falling from chocolate brown eyes. "How can you possibly know that?" she whispers, tears falling from her own eyes now.

Nikita sighs, her strength leaving her as fast as it came, as she makes her way over to Missy's bedside. She lifts her shirt to show Missy her flat stomach. "Do you see this?" she asks, pointing to a rectangular scar right above her bellybutton.

"What is it?" Missy asks, looking at the scar closely before pulling back to look at Nikita's face.

"It is a scar from an ex-boyfriend about two years ago. One day, I pissed him off enough for him to punch me in the stomach and he had his class ring on when he did. It hurt so bad that I honestly thought I was dying. That was the first time he ever hit me, and the bruises lasted almost a month."

"Did he ever hit you again?" Missy asks, looking at the girl with pity clear on her face.

"Yes, he did because he begged me not to break up with him the next day, and like a fool, I believed him. Wipe that look off of your face, I don't want pity. I'll make you a deal Missy: I'll tell you my story if you tell me yours. What do you say?"

Missy alternates between looking at the now covered stomach to Nikita's tear-drenched face before nodding slowly.

Nikita breathes deeply before beginning her story. "I met Jack when I was fifteen. He was in my Spanish I class so we talked a lot. It didn't take him long to ask me out. I was kind of on the fence about dating him at first. He was almost two years older than me, and I liked him as a friend so I was worried about taking our relationship to a new level ruining the friendship we had built. Eventually, I agreed to go on a date with him. We went to see the new action film since I refused to go see a chick flick. We had the greatest time, and I thought that our relationship could really work." at this point, Nikita is crying so hard she can barely speak and Missy is trying to comfort her the best she can.

Once Nikita calms back down, she continues. "It was going great for a few months. We made out, went on dates, and basically had a great time being together. As always, good things don't last nearly long enough. I was going to meet him in the cafeteria so we could have lunch together, but he had apparently already made plans. I saw him making out with another girl at our favorite spot to hang out. I was so upset that I marched straight over to him and started yelling in his face. He simply broke away from the girl he was kissing and took me to someplace more private. I was still yelling at him for cheating on me, and when he tried to interject, I slapped him across the face. I had never seen someone's face turn red so quickly before. After that, he punched me in the stomach as hard as he could, called me a bitch, and walked away. I collapsed and almost vomited, it hurt so badly. I don't know how long I lied there in the grass before I finally found the strength to get up and wipe my tears away. After that, I called Penny since she was the only not working at the time and told her I was not feeling well. She came and picked me up. I stayed out of school the next day, feigning a stomach virus. I didn't want to face my so-called boyfriend ever again, but I had to go back. As soon as he saw me, he apologized for everything. He even cried! He said that it was a one-time thing and that he would never hurt me again. After his monologue, I stupidly believed him." she continues, wiping her eyes ever now and then. Missy is almost bawling at this point.

"It quickly became a vicious cycle. He did something he shouldn't, I pissed him off, he hit me, he apologized, I forgave him, and repeat. And no one even noticed. I think that was the worst part about it for me. It almost felt like no one cared enough to pay attention. As time went on, I became afraid to anger Jack. I always tried to answer the first time he called, I stopped hanging out with the people he didn't want me to hang out with, and just did anything I could to please him. At least I did, until he wanted me to have sex with him. I finally tried to draw the line when it came to that because I was still a virgin at the time, and I didn't trust Jack at that point. I was terrified that he would try to rape me so I called the first person I could think of, Olivia."

"Who is Olivia?" Missy interrupts.

"Olivia is my best friend. She's here in the waiting room actually, so I imagine you will meet her soon enough. Anyway, I secretly called Olivia and told her where I was. She didn't have her driver's license, both of us being fifteen at the time, but I knew she could get me help. Once Jack found out what I was doing, he started calling me every filthy word he could think of and when I wouldn't give him the phone, he broke my arm to get it. When Olivia finally arrived, my arm was bruised and my face was bleeding, but then again, so was Jack's. I finally started fighting back and left deep scratches all down his face and arms. I had just broken his nose when Olivia saw me. She gasped but quickly sprang into action before Jack could try to hurt either one of us. She halfway dragged me to the car that I quickly learned she had driven herself as soon as she had heard Jack's angry voice. She quickly drove us to the hospital with Jack's angry, bleeding face in the rear-view mirror as he chases us as far as he can.

I was quickly being tended to once we arrived at the hospital and Olivia informed our families. They all wanted to know what happened to me. I was so ashamed to tell anyone. After all, it was my decision to keep forgiving him after he beat me over and over again. Olivia was the first person to know about it, and I didn't even tell her. Eventually, with Olivia allowing me to almost break her fingers, I told my friends and family what happened. By the end of it, most of them were crying and trying to comfort me. My mother suggested that I be put into mental therapy to help me get over my traumatic experience, and my aunt suggested pursuing a case trial against Jack so he couldn't harm anyone else. I eventually did pursue a case, and Jack ended up guilty and getting a few years in jail because by the time the case ended, he was legally eighteen while I was sixteen. I was in mental therapy during the time of the case as well as almost five months after to help me cope with everything. I am now coping with the fact that I still won't have to deal with Jack, and when he does get out of jail, I have a restraining order filed against him."

Missy looks confused for a second so Nikita explains further. "If he comes within fifty feet of me, he can go back to jail for a few more years."

"Oh, okay. I guess it's my turn to share and tell ain't it?" she says, taking a deep breath before beginning.

"Yes, Michael has hit me before. He's been hitting me for almost three months. The only reason I came to Pasadena was as a promise to my mom to get away from Michael for a little while. She never saw him hurt me, but I guess she could see how much I was obsessed with him. I always had to be with him every minute of every day. I was even afraid to go to work because I thought he would be mad that I didn't spend that time with him. Yesterday, I had to work overtime, and I didn't get a chance to tell him. Mom tried to convince me that he would be fine without me for a little while, and I tried to believe her, but she doesn't know him like I do. So, I got home at around 11 last night. At around three in the morning, Michael somehow got into the house. I was sleeping on the couch because I was too tired to walk up the stairs to my bedroom. He pulled me up by the hair and told me in a fake calm voice that he was disappointed in me. I was crying so hard at the time that I couldn't even speak. He grabbed me by the arms and squeezed so hard that I thought he would shatter them before he threw me on the floor as hard as he could. He then stomped on my chest as hard as he could before calmly walking out of the house. The noise woke my mom up, but not my brother since he was passed out in his room. My mom picked me up at cried into my hair before taking me to the car and driving me to the airport. She said that it would be safer with Shelly, and she proceeded to buy me a plane ticket for the next available flight. I called Shelly on my cell phone that my mom handed me before I left to let him know that I would be there soon. Once the flight was over, I felt like I couldn't breathe. I ran off the plane and into Sheldon's arms before passing out cold shortly after. The rest is history." Missy finishes, more tears falling down her cheeks as she tries to smile.

Nikita wordlessly embraces Missy the best she can without injuring the young woman further.

"What's going on?" Sheldon's voice reverberates off the walls as the two girls cry into each other's arms.

"It's nothin, Shelly, just some girl talk." Missy answers, lifting her head from Nikita's brown locks.

"You need to tell him, you know." Nikita tells her, trying to look stern.

"I don't know if I can." Missy whispers, looking increasingly more vulnerable.

Sheldon wonders what has happened to his confident twin. He has never seen her cry so much in his life, let alone embrace a complete stranger like she is. What could have possibly happened back in Texas to hurt her so much?

While Sheldon contemplates this, Missy and Nikita seem to be having a silent conversation with their eyes. Whatever it is about, Missy's resolve seems to be breaking. Eventually, Missy exhales deeply and nods and Nikita before meeting the worried blue eyes of her special twin brother.

"Sheldon there is something I need to tell you. It has to do with my injuries." Missy says, her eyes meeting Sheldon's as she pleads with the God her mother is so convinced exists that Sheldon can figure it out for himself, and she wouldn't have to spell it out for him.

Unfortunately, Sheldon never was good at guessing things like this. "Did you have an accident?"

Missy now looks almost insulted as she shakes her head and asks, "Excuse me?"

Sheldon repeats his question slowly before adding, "Accidents happen all the time, Missy. That is nothing for you to be ashamed of. Although, I do wonder why you would insist on catching such an early flight and interrupting my rem cycle to do so. It was very irresponsible to get on a plane while injured, you know."

"Sheldon, there was no accident." Nikita interrupts him before he can go into even more detail.

"What is it then, Missy?" Sheldon asks, tilting his head slightly as he stares at his twin.

Missy takes a deep breath once more as she prepares to admit to her twin that she isn't as tough as he thinks she is. "Sheldon, I've been abused by a boyfriend for three months."


	8. Ch 8 Twin Issues

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. Thank you guys for reading and commenting on my story! I really appreciate it.

Sheldon is many things and has been called many things before. He is a genius, a physicist, and has been called insane many times before even though he has adamantly denied it. His mother had him tested, after all. He is arrogant, wordy, and strange to normal people. There is one thing, however, that he has hardly ever been since he learned to talk. That one single thing is speechless. His sister has never seen him speechless, no matter how much she prayed for such an event to occur. Until now.

Missy has never seen her brother so stiff before. Not even when he was forced to hug someone was he as stiff as he is now. They are so busy staring wordlessly staring at each other that they don't even notice Nikita slipping out of the room to give them privacy.

It seems like an eternity before Missy finally has enough. "Shelly, are you okay?"

This seems to break Sheldon out of whatever weirdo trance he was in before. Missy wonders if it was a good idea after all as Sheldon starts fidgeting like crazy. "Okay? Of course, I'm not okay! My sister just admitted to being in the hospital because she wasn't strong enough to hurt a man like she used to hurt me. Nothing makes sense anymore." Sheldon exclaims, trying to catch his breath.

"Shelly, you're startin to scare me. Why don't you sit down and try to calm down."

"Fine, I'll sit down, but don't expect me to be calm when my sister just confessed to being abused by someone."

Missy just looks at her brother. "What is with you, Sheldon? You have never really been the kind of protective brother to be there for me so what's suddenly changed?"

Sheldon fidgets some more under her gaze. "I usually had more problems than you growing up. You never really needed me to be protective of you before because you could take care of yourself. This is one of the very few times in our lifetimes in which you are the one with more problems." he explains, looking at the floor.

Missy carefully touches her bruised chest at her brother's declaration. "Sheldon, thank you for wanting to take care of me, but there really is no need. I won't go back to Michael and I'll be fine."

Sheldon stands back up at Missy's words. "You can't possibly know that. You said that he's been abusing you for months! If you knew for sure that you was going to leave him, you would have done so before your very life was threatened by what he had done. Missy, if you went back to him again and again in the past three months, who's to say you won't do it again once you go back to Texas?"

It is Missy's turn to fidget under her twin's gaze. "I was actually thinking about moving here to California."

"Where would you stay?" Sheldon asks, looking confused as he tilts his head to the side a little.

Missy looks hesitant to answer, but she does nonetheless. "I don't know, yet. Maybe I'll just try to find someone to stay with until I can afford my own apartment."

Sheldon actually manages to look affronted. "Nonsense, you can stay with me and Leonard. I'm sure that letting your mentally traumatized sister stay with you until she gets back on her feet is a non-optional social convention. If it isn't, then it really should be."

"What about Nikita? Is she staying with you or did you just manage to make a new friend?"

"She is actually staying with Penny for the time being, but that does bring me to another conundrum."

Missy just shakes her head and rolls her eyes. "What would that be, Shelly?"

"A conundrum usually refers to a confusing…" Sheldon begins before Missy cuts him off. "I know what the word means, Sheldon! I mean, what is your problem?"

Sheldon actually looks used to being cut off by now. "Leonard and I have had Erica, Monica, and Natalie stay with us for a couple of days."

Missy's expression is a mix between surprise, impressed, and disgusted. Needless to say, the look is both strange and doesn't suit her at all. "Let's see: there is Nikita, Olivia, Erica, Monica, and Natalie." she says, ticking the names off on her fingers. "How many more strange, teenage girls should I know about Sheldon?"

"There are only five of them, and they are not strange." Sheldon says, getting a little defensive.

"Sheldon, they are hanging out in a waiting room with a scientist who is by no means related to them."

Now, Sheldon's cheeks have a bit of a red tint to them. How does he get out of this without telling her so soon? "I will explain who they are once you are out of this hospital. Now, I suppose I could ask Howard or Raj to take one of the girls with him."

At that exact moment, Erica walks into the room with the slightly shocked twins. "Hey, Sheldon, I'm going to the gym, but I'll meet you at the apartment later. Missy, my name is Erica. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Erica." Missy says as she looks pointedly at Sheldon with shock and confusion. Apparently, the physical similarities are not slipping by unnoticed.

Erica, not noticing what exactly is going through her aunt's head, turns back to Sheldon. "As for asking one of the guys to take one of the girls, I suggest asking Howard to take Olivia. I've heard that Olivia wants to talk to Howard and possibly Bernadette."

With that, she leaves the siblings in the waiting room. As she is leaving, she hears her father say, "I promise that I'll explain when you are out of this germ-infested room!" She giggles to herself at her father's desperate tone. She hardly ever gets to hear it back home.

As she is about to leave the hospital, she hears someone's voice behind her. "You better not be going where I think you're going."

Erica sighs dramatically before turning around to face her own twin. "I'm going to the gym if you must know. I haven't been all day."

"What the frack is wrong with you, Erica? Our aunt is in the hospital, and you still won't take a freaking day off from your precious training." Monica almost screams, waving her arms for emphasis.

Leonard quickly stands up before they can reveal anything else they shouldn't. "I think you two should take this conversation outside before someone hears something they shouldn't."

With that advice, Erica drags Monica outside by her shirt sleeve before letting her go. "What is your freakin' problem anyway, Monica? Why does my going to the gym to train for something important to me bother you so much?"

"My problem is that you would sacrifice everything, even your own damn family, for that precious medal. You won't even stay with Aunt Missy because you have to train."

"Oh, don't even try to feed me that bullshit, Monica! This has been going on long before we even came to this time period. So again I ask you. What. Is. Your. Damn. Problem?" Erica asks, putting emphasis on each word.

"Fine, you really want to know what my problem is? Well, I'll tell you what my problem is. My problem is just you in general, Erica!" Monica screams so that all of the west coast can hear her.

Erica takes an involuntary step back, tears welling up in her eyes making them shine a crystal blue. "So you just really hate me, is that it? Well, thanks for sharing Monica, but I really don't think I needed to know." she says, walking away with as much power as she can muster.

Monica, realizing what she had just said, calls out to her sister. "Erica, stop. Please. That's not what I meant."

Erica turns around to face her sister, tears falling down her cheeks. "Really, Monica, because I believe you meant every word. Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to go train so that I can win, as you put it, my precious medal."

Before Erica can call a taxi, Monica calls after once more. "Erica, I meant that I am jealous.

This makes Erica stop and turn around once more. "Erica, you are perfect and special while I'm just normal."

Erica actually laughs at this. She falls to her knees, she is laughing so much. Monica looks extremely insulted by this. "Just what the hell do you find so funny?"

Once Erica finally calms down enough to speak, she answers. "The fact that you think my life is perfect. There is absolutely nothing for you to be jealous of."

"How the hell did you figure that out in that big, massive brain of yours? There is everything to be jealous over when it comes to you. You are freakishly smart, insanely athletic, and you look good doing it in your own way."

Erica now lets out a sarcastic snort of a laugh. "Yeah, the key word there is freakishly. You said that I was _freakishly_ smart. How in the world is that a good thing? As for looking good, I could never compete with you in that department."

"Maybe, but that is a good thing. Any guy who truly likes you, likes you for you. No guy that I have met can get passed my looks to see if there is anything else to me. Being pretty is not all that it's cracked up to be."

"Neither is being smart of athletic. Do you realize how much sleep I lose over my tests and homework, or how sore I am after a particularly hard practice? You should be thankful that you are not athletically or extremely intellectually inclined."

"Why are you even a gymnast then if you complain about it so much? Your life would be relatively normal if you would just give it up." Monica says, sitting down on the stone bench and turning to her sister, still sitting on the ground, curiously.

"When have you ever heard me complain about gymnastics before now? Never. Never because I enjoy it. No matter how much it hurts me, I love gymnastics far too much to give it up. As for being normal, my life would never be normal because I myself am not what you call normal. Truthfully, I don't want my life to be normal. It is so much more fun to be challenged every day."

Monica looks at her sister strangely. "Maybe it's a good thing that I am normal. I'm not sure I could handle being like you."

At this, Erica laughs slightly once more. "Monica, you are anything but normal. You are one of the most beautiful and talented singers I know. Do you even realize how special and rare your gift is? While most singers only sound good when someone messes with their voices, you sound truly good naturally. People would kill for a voice like yours."

Monica is really touched by her sister's declaration. "Stand up, you big weirdo, before people start to notice even more than they already have."

Erica laughs some more before complying. Once Erica is on her own two feet once more, Monica embraces her. The two hug for a few moments before they let go. "I love you sis." they tell each other simultaneously.

"Hey, have you ever seen me practice?"

Monica looks like she is about to laugh at her. "Of course, I haven't. I was only jealous of you, your entire gymnastics career so it only makes sense for me to go see you twist your body in some amazing ways so it can make me even more jealous."

"Jesus, lay off the sarcasm a little bit. Now, I know you're not adopted."

"How is that?" Monica asks, confused now.

"You excessively talk like Dad and lay the sarcasm on heavily like Mom." Erica explains while rolling her eyes. Her sister can really be dense sometimes.

Monica mock glares at her twin. "Anyway, why did you ask?"

This seems to bring Erica back to the original topic. "Oh, yeah. I was wondering if you would like to come and watch me practice. I could teach you some things."

Monica looks really touched by this offer. "I thought you didn't like people to watch you practice. You said people distracted you. Could you really teach me some of the things you do?"

"I know I said that people distract me, but I would really like to go through the process with you. As for teaching you something, sure I can. You seem to be naturally flexible if last year in wellness class is anything to go by, and you have a decent amount of upper-body strength. I couldn't teach you anything advanced, but I should be able to teach you some beginner's stuff."

"Okay, but I don't have a leotard."

"All of mine are back at the apartment so I'm without one too. I know a place where we can borrow a couple, though." Erica explains, calling a taxi afterward.

Twenty minutes later, both Erica and Monica are at the gym and in sleeveless leotards, Erica's light blue and Monica's pink. Erica's long hair is secured in a high bun while Monica's shorter hair is pulled back into a simple, high ponytail. "So what do I get to do first, some work on the bars or maybe even the beam?"

Erica actually laughs at this. "Monica, there is no way I would let you work on that. It's too hard."

"It is not. It can't be that hard because you were working on it since you were eight."

"Yes, but I was practicing the entire year before so I could work on the beam and not get hurt. I wasn't working on the uneven bars until later."

Monica still looks a little put-out, but not as much as before. "Okay, so what do you want me to do?"

"First, do a split. I know you can do one of those."

Monica slides down into a split even though she looks a little confused. "Why do you want me to do this?"

"It stretches your legs out. You're going to need the extra flexibility." Erica explains, doing the same before leaning into her right leg as far as she can go.

Monica does the same, though it is obvious Erica is more flexible. After a few moments, Erica leans into her left leg. Monica does the same. After a few seconds, Erica stands up only to do a front split, leaning into her front leg. Monica watches her before copying her movement. After another moment, Erica leans back into her other leg.

"How does this not seem to hurt you?" Monica says, trying to lean back further and almost crying at the jolt of pain that runs through her as a result.

"I'm used to doing this everyday so it doesn't hurt me that bad. You, on the other hand, are not used to stretching this much, therefore it hurts you." Erica explains casually before standing and doing a headstand.

Monica sighs before doing the same. They stay like this until Monica feels a headache coming on. "Do you always stay like this until you no longer feel blood anywhere besides your head?"

Erica actually laughs in her position. "Be thankful my you're not taking an advanced gymnastics class. The coach would make you walk laps across this place on your hands to make sure you have enough upper-body strength and balance." Erica then demonstrates this.

Monica drops out of the headstand to watch Erica. Erica walks one lap across the floor on her hands before doing the same.

"Wow, they actually make you do that?"

"Yeah, that's not the only thing they make us do, though."

"So what are you going to teach me?" Monica asks, looking at her.

At this, Erica smiles almost evilly at her sister. "I'm going to teach you how to do a backflip."

Monica doesn't know whether to be disappointed or frightened at the news. "Um, can you show me some moves that you normally do, first?" Monica asks, nervously.

Erica shakes her head. "Once you land a backflip, I'll show you what I do as a reward."

It is an hour and a half later when Monica finally lands her first backflip on the trampoline. Erica claps for her sister while Monica screams so loud that it is a surprise the windows don't break. Erica laughs at her sister until she finally calms down.

"Can you show me what you can do now because I really want to get out of the leotard?" Monica asks, pulling at the offending leotard.

"Sure," Erica says before moving over to the uneven bars. She then does four advanced routines in a row before ending her performance in a round off double back dismount.

Monica is impressed and shocked. She didn't even watch her sister at the Olympics because she was so jealous of her. Now that she gets a chance to see Erica in action, she understands why her sister loves it. She had never seen Erica look more beautiful than she did during her routine.

Once Erica comes over, Monica hugs her tightly. "Thank you for showing me this. You were so beautiful doing that, Erica. You just don't even know."

Erica hugs her back just as tightly. "You're welcome, Monica. I'm glad you landed the backflip."

Once they let go, Monica says, "Let's get out of these stupid leotards and go back to the apartment. I don't see how you stay in these things day in and day out, sis."

"I never expected you to, sis." Erica answers as they walk to the changing rooms.


	9. Ch 9 The Wolowitz Configuration

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. Thank you guys for reading and commenting on my story! I really appreciate it. I have estimated the completion of this story to be from eighteen to twenty-two chapters long so as long as guys continue to read it, I'll continue to write it.~

Erica, Monica, and Natalie wake up to the alluring smell of pancakes. Erica is confused while the others are just hungry.

'Why would there be a smell of pancakes in the apartment. Sheldon usually doesn't make pancakes." Erica thinks as she dresses in Leonard's room.

Leonard spent the night at Raj's seeing as Priya was there and Raj was not. Raj spent the night at Amy's so she could get started on helping him with his speech problems. When Leonard had first announced it, Natalie hid her face in her hands while Erica and Monica just gave him the thumbs up. Leonard then explained that they would just be talking about their surprising future together. Natalie visibly relaxed at the news.

Erica gets an extreme shock as she walks into the kitchen. Sheldon is there and he is actually cooking _pancakes_ outside of his routine. Erica has known her father to do certain things like this when one of them did something he was proud of, it was one of the things that made him a good father, but she had never heard of him doing so before she and her sister arrived. Monica and Natalie are both already sitting down and eating like they had never seen food before.

"Erica, you have got to try these pancakes. They are so good." Monica says after she swallows.

"Yeah, they really are." Natalie agrees before continuing to eat.

"What's the occasion, Sheldon?" Erica asks as he turns around to hand her a plate of pancakes.

"Well, as you know, Missy is being released from the hospital today so I thought, what the hay? I'll fix breakfast."

"Even though you usually never fix pancakes?" Erica asks while shaking her head. Maybe she's in some weird, hunger-induced dream that she's going to wake up from. She has been known to have those from time to time, after all.

Sheldon actually blushes. "Well, I just feel like stepping out of my schedule somewhat today."

Okay, now Erica is sure she's dreaming. There is no way in hell her father just said that in this time period. He barely says it in her time period!

"Okay, I'm still sleeping. So, I'm going back to bed, and hopefully when I get up, everything will be back to normal." she says before slowly walking back to the bedroom.

"Erica, you know good and well that for me to be in your mind during your rem cycle would be impossible unless you dreamed of me, and why would you do that?" Sheldon points out in a slightly snobbish tone.

She immediately turns back around before sitting down with her breakfast. "Okay, now I know I'm awake, however improbable this situation may be."

Sheldon turns to Monica for an explanation. She drinks the last of her milk before explaining. "In addition to being an absolute genius and excellent athlete, Erica also tends to be an immense drama queen from time to time."

"Oh, good; I was pondering if Erica had any of Penny's traits besides her facial structure. Now, I know."

Natalie just watches the exchange between father and daughter. "Wow, I think those are some of the biggest words I have ever heard you say at one time, Monica."

Monica's only response is to stick her tongue out at Natalie.

"And now the normal Monica is back." Natalie finishes before washing her dishes.

Before Monica can formulate a response, the sound of someone knocking on the door floods the apartment. Monica just rolls her eyes at Natalie before going to answer the door.

"Hey, Olivia and Nikita, what's up?" Monica asks once she sees who it is.

"Nothing much," Olivia answers, "We just thought we'd come over here since it doesn't seem like Penny will be waking up anytime soon."

"Penny does get up pretty late." Monica answers before holding the door open wider so they can slip in.

"Do I smell your dad's famous pancakes?" Olivia asks once she is inside.

"I thought your dad didn't make those until you guys were six?" Nikita asks as Olivia makes a break for the table.

"I guess he did for very special occasions, and no one ever knew about it." Monica answers as she sits down and turns the television on. Nikita just rolls her eyes before shutting the door and joining her.

"Excuse me, but how are my pancakes famous when they are not mine? My meemaw taught me how to make them." Sheldon explains from the kitchen table.

"Your pancakes are famous in all four of our families. The reason we call them _your_ pancakes is because Erica, Monica, Mason, and Anna are the only ones who've had your meemaw make them." Nikita explains before getting a plate of her own.

Sheldon doesn't respond as the teenagers eat and watch TV. This time, they watch a Project Runway rerun, much to Sheldon's chagrin. After the episode goes off, Sheldon asks a question. "Who's going to drive me to the hospital to pick up Missy?"

Erica immediately volunteers, saying she isn't going to the gym today, and picks Leonard's car keys up from the table since Leonard simply went home with Raj last night. Before they walk out the door, Sheldon says, "If any of you need anything, go over to Penny's apartment. Tell Penny where we went if we're not back by the time she wakes up." With that, Sheldon and Erica begin their journey to the hospital.

After a few minutes, Erica asks, "Sheldon, are you okay with this?"

She clearly startles him. He jumps before turning toward her. "Am I okay with what?"

She looks at him out of the corner of her eye. "You know, with Missy's problem. Are you going to be okay being around her now?"

Sheldon sighs. "I will have to be. I don't appreciate what has been done to her, but I can't change the past without completely destroying the universe. All I can say is that it will _not_ happen again if I can help it." he finishes strongly.

Erica nods before turning her attention back to the road. She then speaks once more. "What about all five of us showing up out of the blue, are you really okay with us being here?"

Sheldon once again turns to face her. "Erica, two daughters I never thought I would have, with a mother I would never see myself with under normal circumstances, show up along with the daughters of my fellow colleagues. It may be a little startling and perplexing, but I wouldn't call you five showing up a tragedy."

After a few minutes of silence, Sheldon asks, "Who taught you how to drive, Erica?"

Erica looks slightly surprised by the question but answers anyway. "Leonard taught me. He's my godfather, you know."

"No, I didn't know that. Do I drive in your time?"

Erica nods. "You do, but you were busy on some project or another so I asked Leonard to teach me how to drive. No offence because you're my dad and I love you, but it would've been awkward and uncomfortable for me to have you teach me how to drive."

Sheldon nods as well. "Did any of you ask me to teach him/her to drive?"

"Anna did a couple of months ago, actually. I may be the smart one in the family, as Monica puts it, but Anna really is a lot like you. She has your hair color, but Penny's eyes. She has a lot of your quirks, though. She just doesn't let the entire world see them."

Sheldon looks thoughtful for a moment or two before asking one more question. "What does she dream of doing with her life? I've always wanted to figure out answers to life's questions."

"She wants to be a professional dancer, actually. Before you say anything, she's really good. She has potential to go to Julliard one day."

Sheldon sighs and shakes his head. "Why is it that almost every child of mine wants to be something unbelievable? Leonard told me that Monica wants to be a singer, you want to be a gold medalist, and you're telling me that Anna wants to be a dancer. What does Mason want to be, a football player?"

"He wants to be a veterinarian actually. He loves animals and wants to heal them. I want to be a chemist after I'm done with the Olympics."

With that, the ride to the hospital becomes silent. Neither speaks until Sheldon is wheeling Missy to the car, halfway listening to her doctor give her instructions. Finally, the doctor leaves with the wheelchair once Missy is out of it and the trio is alone.

"How did you convince the hospital to release you so early, Missy? I thought they would keep you a lot longer than a day." Erica asks as she slips into the driver's seat.

Sheldon helps Missy into the back seat, just to make sure she doesn't hurt herself, and slides into the passenger seat before she answers. "You're Erica, right?" at this, Erica nods as she looks at Missy through the rearview mirror. "Well, I just promised the doctor that I wouldn't do any physical activities until he approves of me doing them. I also have to check back in with them twice a week."

Once the trio is on the road, Missy says to her twin brother what she has wanted to ever since Nikita walked into her hospital room yesterday. "Okay, Sheldon. You said that you wouldn't tell me who these five girls are until I was out of the hospital. Well, I'm out of the hospital now, so start explaining."

Sheldon immediately bristles at being told what to do, but anyone looking at him can tell that he's secretly happy at hearing his sister starting to sound more like herself. "Fine, but you have to swear that you will not tell anyone what I am about to tell you. Not even Mom." his eyes narrow as he turns around to look her in the eyes.

Missy rolls her own. "Okay, okay. I won't tell so tell me already."

So Sheldon does. He tells her everything that he has figured out since the girls' arrival. He explains that they are from the near future, who they are, and how he came to actually irrefutably believe five teenage girls. Erica chimes in every once in a while, but she mostly stays silent as she drives. By the end of Sheldon's explanation, Missy is speechless. Eventually, she finds her words.

"So you mean to tell me that the five teenage girls you have been hanging out with are some sort of time travelers?"

Sheldon and Erica both nod as Missy's eyes grow impossibly wider.

She laughs a little as she shakes her head back and forth. "Shelly, I know you're one of God's special little people, but this is just plain ridiculous."

It is Erica's turn to speak up this time. "Missy, as miraculous and unlikely as this may seem, Sheldon is telling the truth. My full name is Erica Michelle Cooper. My twin sister's name is Monica Belle Cooper, and I assure you that your brother is our father."

"That would make you my niece." Missy says in awe, as if she had just proved string theory instead of just stating a simple fact.

Sheldon rolls his eyes while mumbling under his breath about ignorant siblings and the possibilities of being adopted. Erica actually smiles while looking at Missy in the rearview mirror.

"That's right. So, do you believe us now?"

Missy laughs exasperatedly. "I guess I have to since my genius of a brother believes you already. Not to mention, and I don't mean to offend you, but you do talk like him."

Erica laughs as she says, "None taken. I already know I'm my father's daughter."

Sheldon's eyes and smile seem to light up at this statement, and Missy knows that her brother and this slightly strange girl, her _niece_, are telling the truth.

After a few minutes, they are walking up the flights of stairs to apartment 4A, Sheldon making sure that Missy isn't hurting too much and Erica walking behind them to make sure nothing terrible happens.

As it turns out, the apartment is full of people. Everyone is there: Leonard, Priya, Amy, Raj, Howard, Bernadette, Penny, Olivia, Nikita, Monica, and Natalie. Somehow, though, Sheldon's spot is still empty as if no one would dare touch it in his absence. He instantly forgets in favor of running to his spot. Erica rolls her eyes at her father's behavior. Olivia offers her seat on the couch to Missy, choosing to sit on the floor at her father's feet. Missy thanks her as she sits down. Erica sits down beside Olivia as the group watches _Bridesmaids_, no doubt the ladies' choice.

A couple of hours later, and the entire apartment is filled with laughter as Erica retells a story about her family. Even Sheldon is actually laughing instead of his usual gasp of a laugh. "So, Mason practically throws the entire plate of lasagna. The lasagna slips from the plate, going all over Dad. He screams so loud, I'm surprised we didn't get a complaint from the neighbors. He runs all the way from the kitchen to his bathroom on the second floor to take a shower. The glass shatters, and Monica jumps up yelling danger, danger as Anna completely freaks out, cleaning up the mess as fast as she can while Mom and I are practically on the floor laughing." Erica recounts, leaning on Olivia for supports as she laughs.

It takes a few moments for the group to calm down as they imagine the crazy as hell family that is the future Coopers. Penny seems to calm down the fastest as she watches this crazy group of scientists, time traveling teenagers, lawyer, and Texan. This is her family, and she couldn't be happier to call them that. These stories are about the growing family that she will have with Sheldon Cooper of all people. She doesn't know what exactly she did to deserve all of this, but she would do it over and over again if it meant she would have such a bright future. In the chaos, she catches Sheldon's gaze. He smiles at her, and she finds herself smiling back. No matter what she does, she will never have a normal life, and she couldn't be happier at the revelation.

Leonard notices the glance between the future couple and smiles himself. A few years ago, he thought that Penny's last name would be Hofstadter, and never in a million years would he have thought it would be Cooper. He's glad that he doesn't have to live with that fantasy anymore, especially since he has a future spouse of his own right next to him. He looks at Priya as he thinks this, and she is watching him too. She closes the distance between them slowly. The kiss lasts for a few seconds before she whispers, "I know," in his ear. Leonard just knows that he's smiling foolishly, but he can't bring himself to care.

Each of the girls tells at least one story as the group of adults laughs and tells stories as well. Even Raj tells a story after he drinks a glass of rum. Amy lightly scolds him for this, but he hasn't been able to speak to her without it either so she can't fault him too much for still having to use alcohol to speak.

When it comes time to eat dinner, Priya volunteers to make her chili or, as Sheldon puts it, whatever the hell it is. Natalie offers to help, and even suggests making her own homemade, double chocolate brownies. As the entire group continues talking and laughing, mother and daughter finally have time alone.

As they get the food cooking, Priya asks, "So, tell me about yourself. What is life like in your time?"

"Well, being the big sister to two brothers is kind of tough. They don't come to me for advice often, but they do every once in a while. I think that my brothers and I would get on each other's nerves a lot more if it weren't for the Sheldon, Raj, and Howard's families getting together all the time."

"Oh, that's nice. All of you are close then?"

"Yeah, we all grew up together in this huge family setting in which we have had many, many different discussions. It's really been a good way to grow up and keep all of us close. We have learned to question everything and think for ourselves." Natalie explains as she cooks.

Priya nods. They work in silence until dinner is done and Natalie's special dessert is in the oven.

"Guys, dinner's ready!" Natalie calls everyone as she fills different bowls with chili as Priya checks on the brownies.

The group walks easily from the living room to the kitchen to pick up their bowls. Naturally, Sheldon has to say something before he can go back to his spot on the couch. "This is still not chili."

Both Priya and Natalie roll their eyes at him before going to the living room themselves. They eat in silence except people complimenting on Priya's chili. About halfway through her bowl, Natalie gets up to take her brownies out of the oven. The smell of fresh, chocolate brownies instantly fills the air. She cuts them into near-perfect squares before putting a single square on each plate. She then carries as many as she can to the living room.

She hands out every plate she has. As soon as Priya notices what Natalie is doing, she goes to get the rest of the plates to hand them out.

Once they finish dinner, they starting eating Natalie's brownies. Penny is the first to respond. "Wow, these are really good Natalie. How did you learn to make them?"

Natalie blushes at her compliment. "I actually made up the recipe."

"That's really cool, Natalie. You should be a chef or baker, someday."

Everyone else eating agrees, even Sheldon. Naturally, Leonard isn't eating since he's lactose intolerant.

Natalie blushes even more at this. "Thanks, guys. I don't see myself going into a career of cooking, but I do like it as a hobby."

"What do you see yourself doing for a career, Natalie?" Leonard asks as he puts his bowl in the sink.

"I want to be a doctor, a medical doctor, not just someone with a PhD." she answers, backtracking slightly.

"That's amazing, darlin'. I hope you make it." Missy says, as she finishes the last of her brownie.

"I hope you do too, Natalie." Leonard says, looking directly into her chocolate brown eyes.

Natalie smiles appreciatively back at him, showing two rows of perfectly white teeth.

The group chats for another hour or so. Eventually, Howard stands and yawns, stretching his arms high above his head as he does so.

"Guess it's time for me to go guys."

Olivia stands as well. "Are you sure you don't mind me staying with you?"

Howard shakes his head slightly. "I already said that I didn't mind when Leonard asked me yesterday, and I've already told my mom you were coming?"

Olivia concedes, nodding her head. "Goodnight, guys." She calls as she walks out of the apartment.

They walk in silence all the way down the stairs and out of the building. Olivia stays silent until she sees Howard's vehicle.

"What the hell is that?" she asks, voice squeaking as she does so.

"It's a Harley. Bernadette bought it for me today." Howard answers, oblivious to Olivia's near-obvious fear.

He is only putting on his helmet and getting on the black motorcycle when he notices that Olivia has not moved. He motions her to come closer. She simply shakes her head, even taking a step back.

Howard sighs exasperatedly. "Come on. I need to go to work in the morning."

"I don't think I can." Olivia says, her voice shaking so much it is a miracle Howard can even understand her.

Needless to say, even Howard notices something is wrong with her when he turns around and sees her eyes rapidly filling with tears. "Okay, what's wrong? Why don't you want to get on the bike?"

Olivia finally sits down on the sidewalk, hugging her knees as she buries her head in them. Howard gets off the bike to sit down beside her. Once he is close enough, he can hear her near-silent whimpering. He waits patiently, for once, for her to speak. She, on the other hand, wonders whether or not she should speak at all.

Ultimately, she decides her future father deserves an explanation. "About three years ago, when I was fourteen, I was dating a sixteen-year old named Bradley. He was my first crush, boyfriend, and kiss. In short, he was my first love. You didn't like it, of course, but Mom was in love with him. One day, he was picking me up from school since he was coming to my house later that day anyway. He had a blood red Harley motorcycle. He was in love with that bike." She explains, laughing through her tears as she finally looks into the light brown eyes of her father.

He looks slightly uncomfortable at the thought of his future daughter dating, but he stays silent as she tells her story.

She continues. "Bradley was an excellent driver, one of the conditions of me being able to go with him places. Everything was going fine. I was enjoying the wind whipping all around me as I held onto him like I never wanted to let go. Looking back on it, maybe on some level I knew it was going to be the last time I would ever hold him like that again."

Now he holds her as she breaks out in tears again. Once she is strong enough to speak once more, she continues.

"He didn't see the drunk driver coming. All I saw was a blur coming toward us before my entire world went black. I woke up in the hospital a couple of days after. Apparently I was thrown off the bike and onto the sidewalk while Bradley was hit head-on. The precious Harley was totaled, and Bradley was killed instantly. I haven't been on another motorcycle since." Olivia finishes, wiping her remaining tears on the back of her hand. "I'm not sure I can get on that bike, Dad."

Howard continues to hold her as he tries to find his voice. Finally, he does. "I know I seem like a total douche bag in this time period, hopefully I've changed a little bit in yours." Olivia giggles at this.

Howard laughs too, slightly. "But I'm not going to make you get on that bike if you don't want to. I will tell you I'm a good driver, and I have never been in an accident before. I can call you a taxi if you want me to."

Olivia doesn't answer. Instead, she seems to be contemplating something as she looks at her purple-painted nails. Finally, she seems to come to a decision as she slowly looks up from her nails and into her father's eyes once more.

"I want to try. Life's too short for me to keep hanging on to the past."

Howard looks shocked to the core. How can a girl with strength like that possibly come from him? He visibly shakes out of his stupor. "Okay,"

They walk over to the bike, Howard getting on first and handing Olivia a pink helmet. She straps it on and gets on the bike before she can change her mind.

Sighing shakily, she holds onto Howard as tight as possible. "Be careful with me, okay?"

Howard answers, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. "I'll always be careful with you, Olivia. You are my daughter after all."

With that, he takes of as slow as the speed limit will allow, his daughter burying her head in his back as she takes the bravest ride of her life.


	10. Ch 10 Missy's Future

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. Thank you guys for reading and commenting on my story! All reviews are appreciated. I have estimated the completion of this story to be from eighteen to twenty-two chapters long so as long as guys continue to read it, I'll continue to write it.~

Missy is baffled. She only found out yesterday that the girl she opened up to so much is actually the future daughter of the sexy Indian man she met last time she visited her eccentric twin brother in the beautiful city of Pasadena. Not to mention, the shock of meeting aforementioned twin's own twin daughters is almost too much to bear.

This thought brings up an entire other round of questions. The main question being: if Sheldon has a surprising future, what happens to her? She thinks about asking the girl that pervert brought over this morning, how he got a fiancée, she has no idea, but she is afraid to. What if she goes back to her asshole of an ex-boyfriend? Is she even still alive in their time?

Missy cringes at the thought of not being alive in the future. She knows she'll die at some point, but she really doesn't like to think about it actually happening.

"Missy!" she hears someone scream, breaking her train of thought.

"Huh, what?" Missy stammers, clearly startled.

"You've been staring at me for the last fifteen minutes. Is something wrong?" the short girl asks.

"I'm just thinking. Just wondering, what's your name again?"

The girl rolls her eyes before answering. "My name is Olivia. You know, that's the fifth time you've asked me my name this morning. Are you sure nothing is wrong?"

Missy blanches. Maybe something _is_ wrong with her. Sighing, she answers, "I don't know. I guess the shock of y'all bein from the future is finally catching up with me."

Olivia nods, understanding in her eyes. "I think most people in your unique situation would be asking questions left, right, and center about their futures. I know I would if this happened to me. So, why haven't you asked any of us anything?"

Missy looks around the apartment. When she doesn't see anyone else, she asks, "Where are the others anyway?"

"Sheldon, Leonard, and Howard are at work, Penny is sleeping in her apartment, and Monica, Natalie, and Nikita went with Erica to watch her practice. They asked me to come with them, but I told them I was going to stay with you just in case there is an emergency."

"First off, I don't see why I would need help. I'm perfectly fine on my own. Even if I did need help, I could always have asked Penny. She is just right across the hall after all. Secondly, what does Erica practice?"

"You have broken ribs and a newly punctured lung, Missy. There is absolutely no need for you to try to be strong and proud right now. Plus, I know it's hurting you to breathe. You might be able to hide it well, but I can see it in your eyes. Now that I've got that out of my system, Erica is an Olympic-level gymnast so she has to practice and work out a lot. Now quit stalling. Do you want me to tell you about the future or not?"

"Erica is an Olympic-level gymnast!" Missy shouts, not being able to help herself and completely forgetting what Olivia said before. She winces afterward as her ribs seem to grind against each other.

Sheldon's daughter, her niece, is famous in her own time. Not for being the youngest with a doctorate, not for a mass murderer, but for being an incredible athlete. She wouldn't believe it if she didn't have a reason to. After all, Erica is extremely thin, but not disgustingly so. She's not just skin and bones; she has a ton of lean muscle. Not to mention, the honesty in Olivia's eyes is nonnegotiable.

"Well, it's a freaking miracle Penny hasn't woken up and stormed over here after that high note. Now, Missy, stop stalling and tell me. Do you want to know a little about the future or not?"

Missy blushes slightly at being caught stalling. Should she take a leap of courage and hear about some parts of her future, or should she let her fear of being told something terrible will happen to her control her?

Taking a deep breath which causes her to press her hand against her chest in pain, she makes her decision. "Okay, tell me something about it. Do I get married? Do I have kids? Am I dead?"

Olivia giggles slightly at Missy's eager and slightly fearful tone. "Okay, okay, slow down a little bit. I can't tell you every little detail of your future life. As Erica and Sheldon would say, it could essentially destroy the universe as we know it. It's not like I know everything about you, either."

"How could you telling me something about my future destroy the universe?" Missy asks, tilting her head in confusion.

Olivia just shakes her head. "I'm smart, but I can't hold a candle to those two. If you want to know, ask one of them. I suggest you just leave it, though. When it comes to explaining something like the universe and time travel, Erica can be too much like her father for her own good."

Missy nods in acknowledgement. She lived with her twin brother for years. She knows what he is like, and it would've been virtually impossible for him to not have a child at least somewhat like him.

"So, what else do you want to know besides the answers to your questions?" Olivia asks once she sees Missy has calmed down slightly.

"I want to know everything you can tell me without having to worry about killing the universe."

Olivia has to think a minute before speaking. "Okay, I'll start by answering your questions. Yes, you are married, but not to the jackass you just left. Yes, you have kids: two as a matter of fact. No, you're not dead, yet, and it doesn't seem like you'll be dying anytime soon, not that anyone wants you to."

Missy visibly relaxes at the news causing Olivia to lift her eyebrow swiftly and cross her arms over her slim shoulders.

"Was that what you were so worried about all this time?"

"Yeah," Missy answers, not lifting her eyes off the floor.

"Thought so. Anyway, you have a fifteen year old son named Nicholas, Nick for short, and a twelve year old daughter named Terri. I'm not telling you their last names or who their father is. Yes, you marry their father, and you seem to be very happy with him. You lived here in Pasadena for a while before moving to Malibu. From what Monica has told me before, she's the blonde teen you've met by the way, you didn't move back to Texas because you felt liberated at finally being out on your own and you moved to Malibu because you wanted to take your feeling a step further by moving away from your brother. Not to mention, Malibu is beautiful. However, you, your husband, and the kids come to visit Pasadena quite often. You also eventually decide to go to college and get a degree, but I'm not going to tell you what your major was."

"Wow, that's strange." Missy says, holding her head like she feels a headache coming on.

"What is?" Olivia asks, curious as to what is going through her companion's Texan brain.

"The way you talk about things that happen in, to me, the future. You talk about it as if it has already happened, which I guess to you, it has. I don't know, I guess it just confuses me a little bit." Missy admits, rubbing her neck with her right hand slightly.

"Oh, I didn't even realize I was doing that." Olivia comments, secretly wondering how Missy and Sheldon could possibly share the same genetics. Then again, she wonders the same exact thing about Erica and Monica from time to time.

"Speaking of which," Olivia begins, "does your mother know how badly you were hurt?"

At this, a light in Missy's eyes visibly dies only to be replaced by a slightly dangerous glint. Olivia imagines this is what Sheldon witnessed just before she injured him when they were younger.

"No she doesn't, and she better not find out. As long as she knows I'm okay now, Michael and I are done and I am staying here with Shelly, she doesn't need to know anything else."

Olivia instantly holds her hands up in surrender. "I'm not going to tell her as it is none of my business, and it's not going to directly hurt her not to know. I would highly recommend telling her in case you want to take his abuse to court, and to make sure he is not going to come after you or your family when he finds out you're not going back to Texas."

As soon as Olivia finishes speaking, Missy's cell phone goes off. Sighing, she gets up to answer it.

"Hello," she answers crossing her right arm with her left.

"Missy, darlin, are you alright? I haven't heard from you since you left. I thought you were going to call me as soon as your flight landed." Missy hears her mother's voice on the other end of the line, and she has to suppress a groan.

"I'm fine Mom. I just forgot to call you." she answers back, starting to pace.

"Well, as long as you're fine. When are you coming back home, dear?" Mary asks, hope palpable in her voice.

Missy cringes before sitting down on the couch once more. This is the part that has made her avoid calling her mother, telling her that her baby girl isn't coming home. "Mom, I'm going to stay with Shelly for a while."

"Okay, dear, just come home soon." Mary answers, clearly not getting what her daughter is trying to stay.

"Momma, I meant I'm going to stay with Shelly for a while until I can find my own place here." Missy says, hoping beyond hope her mother will understand.

"Missy, I'm sure God is sorry for putting you through this much pain, but you don't need to move away because of it. What about your things? Are you just going to leave your stuff here?"

"Mom, I can come back to get it and see you again, but I don't want to live in Texas anymore. I want to see what it is like to live in California for a while. If I don't like it, I'll come straight home. I promise." Missy pleads with her mother.

She hears Mary take a deep breath before she responds. "Okay, sweetie, I trust you to know what you're doin. Just please know Michael ain't around here anymore. He came back to the house after I got home, and he pointed a gun at me once…"

"He pointed a gun at you!" Missy shrieks, wincing before putting her hand delicately on her chest once more. In a slightly calmer tone but no less urgent, she asks, "Are you and George alright?"

"I'm fine darling. Now let me finish. As I was saying, he pointed a gun at me once he found out you weren't home. He was yelling at me loud enough to wake up your brother. George somehow got the gun out of his hand, and they started fighting. I had just enough time to call the police before Michael could notice. He's been arrested."

Tears come to Missy's eyes. "That's really good news. Thank you for telling me."

"It doesn't change your mind, though. Does it?" Mary says in a tone of resignation.

"No, it doesn't. I'm sorry." Missy answers, a tear gliding down her tan cheek.

"I thought so. Tell Shelly to take good care of you, and I love you both very much."

"I love you to Mom, and I'm sure Shelly does to, bye." Missy then hangs up the phone and sets it on the table.

"Missy, are you okay?" Olivia asks, moving to sit down beside her.

Wiping away the single tear, she answers, "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just hard is all. It's hard to tell your mother you aren't coming back home."

"Well, it's not like you're never going to see her again. You need to get your things, after all."

"Olivia is right, Missy. You will need to go back home and gather your things if you really plan to live here." Sheldon's voice floods the room as he walks into the apartment and sits down in his spot.

Leonard follows after him, sitting in a chair near the couch. Missy turns slowly toward her brother.

"What do you mean, if I really plan to live here? Do you not think I will _really_ live here, Shelly?" she asks slowly, his eyebrows lifting with her words.

"Of course I don't think that. I am merely pointing out how flighty your mind can be sometimes." Sheldon answers nonchalantly, completely blind to the anger directed at him.

Missy just shakes her head and asks Leonard, "How do you put up with him when you're not even family?"

"We're kind of like family, and I can't make the rent on my own." Leonard answers, picking up the remote and turning on the television.

He finds the first _Iron Man_ movie just coming on, and the group watches it for two hours. During the movie, the group of girls, including Penny, joins them as an especially bad storm seems to be brewing outside.

At the end of the movie, Leonard stands and grabs his keys from the key bowl on the counter. "I'm going to spend the night at Raj and Priya's again. I think Raj is spending the night at Amy's again."

Before he can leave, Natalie asks, "When is she going to find her own apartment?"

"She's looking for one right now. The only thing I know, though, is she is not going to move back to India for quite a long while. The company she works for has officially transferred her. Leonard answers, putting the keys in his pocket as the sky lightens up for brief seconds, followed by a clap of thunder.

"Leonard, could you drop me off at Howard's house on your way to Raj's? He told me he would pick me up, but I told him I would find a way because I didn't want him to waste gas. I was going to take the bus, but I don't trust public transportation in this weather." Olivia asks, looking at her hands instead of at Leonard as a particularly loud clap of thunder renders the room silent.

"Leonard, do you mind taking me too? Olivia and I never got to finish our talk, and it is kinda private." Missy asks him, flipping her hair back in a sexy fashion.

"Sure," Leonard answers both of them, nodding his head like a bobble-head doll as he only has eyes for Missy.

Some things never change, Missy thinks as she smiles triumphantly.

With three chorusing goodbyes, the trio leaves Sheldon in a room full of young women. A few minutes pass before all of the lights in the apartment spontaneously go off as another flash of lightning illuminates the room before leaving the group in complete darkness.


	11. Ch 11 Lights Out in Pasadena

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. Thank you guys for reading and commenting on my story! All reviews are appreciated. I have estimated the completion of this story to be from eighteen to twenty-two chapters long so as long as guys continue to read it, I'll continue to write it.~

The glow in the dark paint instantly becomes visible, telling people where the exits are, but in the otherwise pitch blackness of the room coupled with the total darkness of the storm-riddled night sky, the inhabitants of the apartment can barely see it. Penny swiftly stands from her spot on the floor.

"I'll get some candles from my apartment. Sheldon, stay with the kids and make sure they're calm until I get back." She then runs out of the apartment, leaving the door wide open.

Erica rolls her eyes at her future mother, but smiles slightly at her actually acting like a mother even though she technically isn't one yet. In no time, Penny comes rushing through the door, this time closing both doors behind her. In her arms are three candles and a cigarette lighter.

She sets them on the table before speaking. "I hope this is enough. I couldn't find anymore."

Monica stands and puts her hands comfortingly on Penny's shoulders and urges her to sit down. Once Penny is sitting down, Monica speaks. "Calm down, Penny. None of us are afraid of thunderstorms or the dark. We'll be fine."

Penny stands and hugs Monica. "I know, but I don't know what came over me. You're not even my child, yet, and you're certainly not a little child in any case. I'm sorry."

"It's okay; you're the only one who hasn't freaked out on some level. You definitely have a right to freak out a little bit." Monica whispers, hugging Penny back.

In the meantime, Natalie takes the lighter and lights the three candles, placing them around the room. Sheldon seems to notice this and wonders. How can Natalie work a lighter so quickly in the dark?

Perplexed, he voices his question. "Natalie, the way you lit those candles with very little light without a second thought makes me think you have some familiarity with a lighter. Why would you have such familiarity with a lighter?"

At this, Natalie nearly drops the still hot lighter. Luckily, she manages to catch it just in time. All the girls in the room turn toward Natalie. Except for Monica. Monica sits down and looks at her hands. Natalie looks at Monica before breathing deeply and dragging Sheldon to his bedroom. Before she gets very far, however, she grabs one of the lit candles and takes it with her.

Room successfully somewhat lit, Natalie sits down on Sheldon's bed as she waits for the outburst she is sure will follow.

Sure enough it does. "People can't be in my room, Natalie."

"Sheldon, if you want to know the answer to your question, I would suggest you shut up and let me speak."

Oddly enough, Sheldon listens to her and he sits down beside her on the bed, waiting patiently.

Exhaling, Natalie speaks. "The reason I have such familiarity with using a lighter in the dark is because I smoke, but no one knows about it except Monica. Whenever my parents and brothers are asleep, I sneak out of our two-story house and smoke outside in mostly complete darkness. I quickly learned how to use a lighter in the dark."

At this, Sheldon shakes his head in clear disbelief and disgust. "Natalie, I thought you said you wanted to be a medical doctor."

Now, Natalie just looks confused. "I do. What does my future career choice have to do with my habit?"

"Your future career choice has everything to do with your destructive habit. If you want to be a medical doctor, surely you know the long-term effects of cigarette smoke on the body by now. Why would you risk something like that?"

"I don't know." Natalie answers, waving her hands for emphasis. "I don't deal well with pressure and anger. I never have. When I was thirteen, every day I was so angry and stressful because not only did I have to worry about my particularly hard classes, but I also had this complete jerk to deal with in school. Some fifteen year old girl wearing all black caught me screaming, crying, and trying to punch a hole in the wall after the jerk, named Adam, stole one of my books with homework hidden in it and ripped the homework to shreds. I was up until two in the morning working on that particular piece of homework. I failed, naturally. Anyway, the girl said that I needed to chill out, and she handed me a cigarette. She lit it for me and everything. I tried to tell her I didn't want or need it, but she insisted. She told me it would help calm me down, and I wanted to be calmed down so badly because not only could I literally feel my blood pressure rising, but I also had a speech to give in my next class. So I took a puff of it. I smoked the whole cigarette, and I felt instantly calmer. I turned to thank the girl, but she left while I was smoking. She left me a half-full pack of cigarettes and the lighter, though. I smoked that pack within the week. I've been smoking ever since."

"Has your source of discomfort been extracted from your life?" Sheldon asks, trying to sound the least bit considerate.

"Yeah, he has. He transferred to another school a couple of years ago. I haven't heard from him since. Not to mention, my grades have never been better since I decided I want to be a doctor."

"Then why do you still smoke if you no longer have an excuse to? I would say reason, but I think we both know I would never see someone bullying you as a reason to destroy your own body as I went through similar experiences."

At this, Natalie actually tears up a bit. "It's just so hard to quit now. I know it's all in my head after the first twenty-four hours, but I can't seem to force myself to quit."

"Have you tried telling Leonard? He was raised by a very intelligent woman who studies the mind so maybe he could help you" Sheldon asks, looking at Natalie a little more.

"I've thought about it, but I can't bring myself to. He'll be absolutely crushed to know that his only daughter is caught in a deadly habit she just cannot break."

"I'm sure he will understand. He knows what it's like to have a parent always disappointed in him so he most likely won't be too disappointed in you. Not to mention, he might be able to help you, as common folk put it, kick your habit."

"I suppose you're right. Thanks, Sheldon." Natalie says, standing up.

"You are welcome, Natalie." Sheldon replies, standing as well.

Once Sheldon is standing, Natalie hugs him. He, to his credit, awkwardly hugs her back. Once she feels his arms wrap around her, she stands on her toes to reach his ear.

"You're my favorite, you know." Natalie tells him before walking back to the living room, candle in hand.

Sheldon takes a minute to ponder this before following behind her. The girls except Monica in the living room watch them enter, confusion on their faces. Monica still won't look anyone in the eye.

The two sit down and act like nothing happened. Eventually, the group does the same. They sit and talk for a while until one by one, the girls fall asleep. Soon enough, only Penny and Sheldon are awake.

"Sheldon, let's take a candle and go to my apartment. We need to talk."

Instead of arguing like Penny expected him to, he simply stands and motions for her to go first. He picks up a candle and proceeds to follow her out of his own apartment and into hers. Once inside, Sheldon quickly finds his spot within her apartment and sits down. Penny sits adjacent to him before speaking.

"I know you said you were going to be okay with marrying me in the future, but I need to know if you're okay with this right here, right now. Sheldon, you don't just have to spend the rest of your life with me. You have to have sex with me. I imagine we have had sex more than just a couple of times since we have more than one set of twins. Sex involves physical contact which disgusts you! Are you ok with all of that?" Penny asks, getting as many thoughts plaguing out of her head as she can.

Sheldon leans toward her. "I know, Penny. I know what my future entails, and I know just how much mine is entwined with yours. I am accepting it more and more every day."

"I don't want you to just accept your life, Sheldon. I want you to actually be happy." Penny squeaks out.

"What makes you think I won't be happy married to you?" Sheldon asks, leaning back and looking confused.

"In what universe could you possibly be happy marrying me? You're the smartest person in the world, and I'm just a community college drop-out. You'll be bored with me."

"Penny, you are so much more than a community college drop-out to me. Even with such dismal education, you manage to challenge me more than anyone I've ever known. I could never be bored with you when you are so willing to challenge me the way you do." Sheldon says, voice sincere as he leans close to her.

Penny then decides to make a huge decision. Not thinking, Penny kisses Sheldon full on the mouth. Instead of Sheldon being terrified and pulling back, he slowly, tentatively, kisses her back. Feeling increasingly more confident, Penny wraps her arms around his neck. Sheldon, following her lead, cautiously wraps his own arms around her waist. Not wanting to completely freak him out, Penny pulls back.

Sheldon looks more dazed than she had ever seen him. After what seems like forever, Sheldon turns to look her in the eyes, a smile on his face. Seeing this smile causes Penny to relax and smile back.

"Fascinating," Sheldon comments before actually leaning closer to Penny and capturing her lips in a kiss once more.

This time Penny is shocked still. Is this the Sheldon Cooper who has trouble with touching people? It is obvious Sheldon is inexperienced, but Penny gently guides him through it. Normally, Penny would already have her tongue in the guy's mouth, being a big ol' five and all, but this time she holds back. No need to freak the poor guy further.

Eventually they both pull back, faces identically dazed. Soon enough, Penny's mind clears enough to where she can remember the one question she has for her future husband.

"What was so fascinating when you kissed me?"

This seems to bring Sheldon down a little from his high, but only a miniscule amount. "When Amy Farrah Fowler kissed me, I never felt anything close to what I felt when you kissed me. When you kissed me, I almost entirely forgot about the bacteria in your mouth. It didn't bother me to kiss you, and the second time was just the same."

Penny, not wanting to deal with his gibberish right at this very moment, asks, "Is that a good thing, Sheldon?"

"Penny, I just admitted that kissing you was pleasurable. If we are going to be happily married one day, this is a very good thing."

Penny just nods in acknowledgement like a complete idiot before leaning forward and kissing Sheldon again.

Eventually, the pair decides to return to Sheldon's apartment. The girls haven't moved an inch since they left. Sighing, Sheldon picks up the closest girl, Erica, and picks her up with some ease. Penny watches in slight surprise before picking up Natalie with ease. They move both of the girls to Leonard's bedroom before laying them down in the bed. They then pick up Monica and Nikita and place them, shockingly enough, in Sheldon's bed.

Going back to the living room, Penny asks, "Where are you going to sleep if the girls are in your bed?"

"I suppose I'll sleep on the couch."

"Sheldon, you shouldn't do that. Why not come with me to my apartment and sleep in my bed?"

"You need to sleep in your bed, Penny. I'll be fine on the couch for one night."

"At least sleep in the bed with me."

Sheldon looks at her for a long while, no doubt weighing his options for simply saying, "Alright," and following Penny out of the apartment, blowing the candles out along the way.


	12. Ch 12 Curing Selective Mutism

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. Thank you guys for reading and commenting on my story! All reviews are appreciated. I know this chapter is a little short, but it is necessary. I'm thinking about putting up links to photos kind of looking what I imagine the girls will look like on my profile. PM me or send me a review if you want me to. ~

Raj and Amy are talking, more like Amy is talking and Raj is listening, when the power goes off followed by a strike of lightening. Raj squeaks while Amy screams, practically jumping into Raj's lap as she does so. This naturally makes Raj squeak even more, but he holds onto her so she doesn't fall nevertheless. They were trying to cure Raj's mutism so he doesn't have to drink alcohol every time he wants to talk to a girl when the lights go off. Amy hasn't made any progress unless Raj is truly shocked about something.

Now it looks like they may never get back to work when the lights are still off, and Amy is practically crying into Raj's chest for no apparent reason to Raj. Raj simply rubs her back, looking back and forth awkwardly in the dark as if something in the room could be the cause of Amy's sudden distress, and he just wasn't seeing it.

"I'm sorry; I just don't like the dark very well. It is an irrational fear, I know, but I haven't been able to help it." Raj feels more than hears her words as she is whispering so quietly, her words are almost lost in the storm.

Raj pats her on the back in a there-there fashion, all the while silently wondering what to do. He has never seen Amy show this much emotion, she is usually just like Sheldon in that way. He can't talk to her in his condition, but he feels like he should offer her words of comfort. He has never hated his mutism more than he does in this moment.

"When I was a little girl, my teenage cousins used to come over to the house all the time. My mother thought they were little angels, but I knew differently. When she was out of the house for one reason or another, and they had to babysit me, they would do the cruelest things to me. One night, Mom was stuck at some place because of a particularly bad storm, and they had to babysit me for the entire night. Instead of putting to bed like they should have, they made me stay in the living room with them while they watched the most terrifying horror movies they could find. After making me watch them, they wouldn't even let me close my eyes, they finally allowed me to go to bed. I was nine so I didn't need a nightlight at the time, but I would after that night. When I was just about to begin my rem cycle, one of my cousins, Samantha, jumped out from under my bed and screamed as loud as he could. I woke up instantly and started screaming and crying while they just laughed. Luckily, my mother was walking through the door at that exact moment, and they were never allowed to babysit me again. Ever since that day, however, I have been absolutely terrified of the dark."

By the end of her story, she actually is crying into Raj's chest, and he is trying to comfort her the best he can without words. Unfortunately, his silent consolation is clearly not working, even as he holds her as tightly as is comfortable for the both of them and rocks her back and forth.

"I'm sorry; you have your own problems. I shouldn't thrust mine upon you like I just did." Amy says, wiping her eyes and making an attempt to stand.

"No," Raj's voice squeaks as he attempts to use it, "don't apologize. Your awful cousins should be the ones apologizing. They did something very cruel." his voice stronger at the end.

Amy, too shocked to move, just falls back against his chest once more. "Raj, you just talked to me."

Taking a deep breath, Raj tries it again. "I know."

Amy, realizing what this means, jumps up without jumping off of him. "Rajesh, do you know what this means? This means there is a loophole in your mutism. You can speak to women, but you just need to not see them. This is a real breakthrough!"

After squealing like the actual girl she is, Amy kisses him full on the mouth. This shocks the both of them as neither moves for a moment, but then Amy feels Raj begin to kiss her back. This encourages her enough to move her hands so she's gripping his shoulders. Raj, taking a leap of faith, swipes his tongue across her lower lip. This causes Amy to moan so he can slip his tongue inside her mouth. For the first time in hopefully many times, Raj actually tastes Amy Farrah Fowler. Raj finally seems to realize just whom he is kissing, causing him to pull back. Amy realizes what is going on and pulls back as well.

"What is it, Raj?"

"Should we really be doing this, Amy?" Raj asks, looking at Amy the best he can without actually being able to see her.

"Well, I certainly don't see a problem with it." Amy answers, sounding more like herself for the first time since the lights went out.

"What about Sheldon? I thought you were crazy about him. Wouldn't this be betraying him?"

Amy actually laughs a little bit before answering. "I was crazy about Sheldon, but lately it just seems as if we are better off as friends and colleagues rather than a couple. I'll still converse with Sheldon, but I believe our relationship is not meant to be anything other than friendship. Sheldon set my aside a few days ago to tell me he feels the same way so no one is being betrayed here. After all, I'm sure either Sheldon or Penny will make a move on each other soon."

"I still can't believe those two get married. Who would've thought Sheldon would be the one to marry the beautiful blonde from across the hall?" Raj replies, shaking his head in silent laughter.

"I thought they would, actually. I see the way Sheldon looks at her, and she is a magnificent woman. Not to mention, Sheldon is an alpha male, and Penny is an alpha female. In the animal kingdom, the alphas always mate each other."

"True. Amy, I hope you know, I prefer brunettes." Raj whispers, kissing Amy once more.

They make out for some time before Amy pulls away to ask the question she has wanted to know the answer to since she met the man.

"Raj, what caused you to have selective mutism?"

Raj sighs, Amy's question effectively ruining his mood, but he can't fault her for it. She's the only one who's bothered to ask, after all.

"When I was thirteen, I had my first crush. She was beautiful: with shoulder-length black hair and the biggest dark brown eyes I had ever seen. My sister encouraged me to talk to her, and eventually I did. It took me a few tries, but eventually I asked her if she wanted to go out with me. She laughed at me and got her friends to as well. I just walked away with my tail between my legs so to speak. I haven't been able to talk to a girl outside of my family without alcohol since."

"So, the core of your selective mutism is fear of rejection, then. What if I told you I would never reject you?" Amy asks, kissing him right after.

"I would ask you how you could possibly know you will never reject me." Raj answers, kissing her back.

"I am telling you I would never reject you, and if that isn't enough, our daughter is proof of my words."

Raj thinks this over for a moment. "You have a point." he concedes before making out with her once more.

The two are so caught up in their activity, they don't even notice the lights turning back on. Amy is the first to notice, and when she does, she pulls away from Raj once more.

"Okay, Raj, can you still speak to me?" Amy asks, actually praying the answer is yes.

Raj tries, but only a squeaking sound comes out. Amy hangs her head in disappointment. She was hoping her declaration would knock Raj out of it. Raj, hating to see Amy look like that because of him, keeps trying to speak, but no words come out.

"Raj, it's okay." Amy consoles, seeing what Raj is trying to do. "You don't need to hurt your vocal cords trying to appease me. We'll get there eventually."

Even after Amy's comforting words, Raj keeps trying to speak. Finally, he does. "I won't stop talking to you, Amy." Raj says as he looks straight into her blue-green eyes. He secretly hopes his son has her eyes.

Amy smiles brightly before kissing him again. "I knew you could do it."

Raj knows he still has a long way to go in curing his selective mutism with every woman, but he also knows he'll be able to clear every obstacle as long as he has this woman with him every step of the way.


	13. Ch 13 Call From Home

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. Thank you guys for reading and commenting on my story! All reviews are appreciated. There are for sure going to be eighteen chapters to this story so it's almost done. I'm thinking about putting up links to photos kind of looking what I imagine the girls will look like on my profile. PM me or send me a review if you want me to. ~

The group consisting of the time travelers, the scientists, and others are waiting for their food at _The Cheesecake Factory _when Penny comes around the corner with their food.

"Here you go guys." Penny says as she actually manages to hand everyone what he/she ordered.

"Thank you, Penny." Leonard says as she hands him his plate, taking his hand from Priya's to start eating.

As Penny hands Raj his plate, he smiles and confidently says, "Thank you, Penny."

This naturally causes an uproar. Instantly, several different voices are talking to Raj. Amy and the time traveling teenagers are content to just smile and let it happen. Raj smiles too, but anyone can see he is beyond nervous. Raj looks at Amy to see if she is willing to help, and she discreetly nods her head. Even if she nodded her head up and down in the most dramatic fashion, the people at the table wouldn't have noticed anyway.

After the group calms down, Amy speaks. "I believe Raj made a real breakthrough last night while we were talking."

"How could you cure his mutism overnight, Amy? It is virtually impossible." Sheldon asks, looking intrigued.

"I uncovered the root cause of his selective mutism and treated accordingly. I don't think he'll be able to talk to women whom he cannot trust quite yet, but it is a major improvement." Amy explains, looking very proud of herself.

"Uncovering the root cause of his problem implies talking beforehand. How did you get him to speak to you without the use of alcohol as I know you don't have any alcohol in your home?" Sheldon asks, looking even more intrigued than before.

Taking a sip of her water, Amy answers. "While trying to get him to talk to me, the lights went out as a result of the storm outside. It turns out, Raj can speak to women as long as he can't fully see them."

Sheldon looks at his ex-girlfriend in awe. "You are a magnificent woman, Amy Farrah Fowler."

This causes Raj to react. "Hey, back off dude. She's mine."

"I have no clue what you are talking about, Rajesh." Sheldon mentions, taking a bite of his burger afterward.

"Amy is my girl. Aren't you Amy?" Raj says, looking over at Amy with a smile on his face.

The time travelers watch this with much interest. They have heard about this story before from their families, but none thought they would ever actually see it play out.

"Amy, please explain to me what this mentally insane astrophysicist is yapping about." Sheldon looks over at Amy while he says this.

Penny just looks back and forth in mild hurt. Did Sheldon, the man who never forgets anything, actually forget what happened between the two of them last night?

Amy smiles at the thought of two men actually fighting over her, but she looks over at Penny and sees the thinly veiled hurt in her eyes. The woman, though beautiful, really cannot hide her feelings well. Did Sheldon finally make a move on her bestie like she predicted last night?

"What Raj is referring to is my current relationship to him. Raj and I have been dating as of last night."

"That's right, Sheldon." Raj says, wrapping an arm around Amy. "For once, I'm better than you."

"Really," Sheldon says, twitching a little. "Well, I'm dating Penny." As soon as the words leave his mouth, Sheldon stands and kisses Penny full on the mouth.

At this, all of the people at the table's mouths drop open onto their plates. The time travelers' parents didn't mention _that_ when they told this story. Now, Leonard looks slightly hurt as he watches his quirky roommate and ex-girlfriend kiss for the first time. Even though he knows he'll be happier with Priya as much as he knows Sheldon and Penny belong together, it still hurts to see it play out before his eyes. Still, he can't help but admit they look suited for each other in a very weird way.

Once Sheldon is done kissing Penny, he sits down while leaving Penny with a dazed look on her face. The group finally picks up their lower jaws and continues eating as if nothing out of the ordinary just happened. Penny walks away to attend to her other customers without another word.

The rest of dinner goes by without further incidence, and soon it is time to head by to Sheldon and Leonard's apartment. Penny decides to cut her shift short and head home with the group.

When the group gets settled in to watch a few shows, Penny suddenly stands from her seat on the couch beside Sheldon.

"Is one of you girls missing something?" she asks, looking at the teens.

"Yeah, I lost a cellular looking device when we arrived. Do you by any chance have it, Penny?" Erica asks, looking hopeful with big blue eyes and long braided hair.

"Yeah, hold on for one second and I'll get it." With that, Penny rushes out of the apartment and into her own.

Within a couple of minutes, Penny is back with what looks like an advanced cellphone in her hands.

"Is this it?" Penny asks Erica, placing it in her hands.

"Yeah it is. Thanks, Penny." Erica says, pressing a few buttons on it.

"You're welcome. I found in your pocket when I was doing laundry Saturday. What is it, anyway?"

Before Erica can answer, Olivia does. "It's one of Erica and Sheldon's inventions designed specifically for time travel as a way to keep in touch while being in different times. It's basically a cell phone that can take calls from different points in time. I couldn't tell you exactly how it works, or even if it works, but it's Erica, Sheldon, and Natalie who built it so I'm sure it works."

"How does it work, Natalie?" Leonard asks, looking between the two girls but mostly at his daughter.

"Yes, I'm curious as to how it works as well." Sheldon mentions, focusing on Erica more than Natalie.

Before Natalie can answer, Erica interjects. "I don't think you would ever forgive us if we spared you the process of figuring out how it works for yourself, Sheldon. You're the one who came up with the idea, after all. Plus, it would create a paradox if we tell you."

Sheldon nods in acceptance while Leonard doesn't look like he is ready to accept Erica's answer so quickly.

"Come on, Erica. At least tell me whether or not it accepts text messaging."

"It does not. It was designed only to accept phone calls. We didn't feel text messaging would be necessary for its purpose." Erica answers, making sure the phone is still in possible working condition.

"Hang on, hang on. Did I hear Olivia mention it might not _work_?" Nikita says, looking at Erica in horror.

"It should work, but we haven't exactly had a chance to actually test it. This is, after all, the first time the time machine has been tested." Erica explains, shaking her head in exasperation.

"The time machine wasn't tested _beforehand_?" Nikita practically screams.

"Of course it was. On rats. I meant the time machine wasn't tested for humans before." Natalie answers this time.

"Still, I thought someone else had used it before. We could've died just to test your little _machine_."

While the girls argue, everyone else watches the argument like they would a tennis match, Olivia and Monica especially.

"Nikita, some of the most brilliant scientists in the world were the ones to invent it. Have a little more faith than that." Erica dismisses easily.

"Oh_, that's_ rich coming from the atheist."

Before Erica or Natalie can retaliate, the device starts playing a long guitar solo. Erica instantly picks it up and answers it.

"Hello, Dad." she greets before walking into Leonard's room and shutting the door.

Everyone belonging in this time period's jaw drops. There is absolutely no way in _hell_ Sheldon just called his daughter from the future. Everyone from the future, on the other hand, looks extremely worried. Missy seems to notice this.

"What's wrong darlings?" she asks, looking at Monica the most.

"Dad and Erica have a special relationship. He never calls her unless it is an extreme emergency and vice versa. He trusts her, and she respects him enough for him to be able to trust her. They are more like colleagues than they are father and daughter." Monica answers, standing up so she can pace the floor.

"What does that mean?" Missy asks, looking beyond confused.

"It means," Natalie starts, "there must be something seriously wrong for him to call her while she is busy on the most important project Erica has ever worked on. That's why we're worried."

Missy nods in understanding. It takes a few minutes, but Erica eventually walks back into the living room. Her face is expressionless.

"What'd did he want, Ricki?" Monica asks, looking even more worried than before.

"He said we're going back to our time Sunday." Erica answers, facial expression not changing.

This makes all four girls drop their heads in resignation. They knew when they signed up for this journey, it wouldn't last forever.

The group of adults looks more depressed at the news than the girls. Missy looks like she is about to cry while the guys look like they can't believe what Erica said.

"You can't leave yet. We're just getting to know you." Leonard says.

"Leonard, we're your kids. You have our entire lives to get to know us. Plus, my dad told me we were going home Sunday, and he left no room for argument." Erica answers, sitting down.

"I guess we'll just have to make the most of the rest of your time here." Raj says, voice weak but otherwise holding up.

This gets the group thinking when Howard claps his hands together. This causes the group to look at him apprehensively.

"I've got it."

Before he can continue, Penny interjects. "No Vegas, strip clubs, or skinny dipping."

Howard glares at her. "Just because you have two daughters here instead of one doesn't mean the rest of us are irresponsible parents. Now as I was saying, what if Bernadette and I have our wedding Saturday? I mean, who else can say their kid was at their wedding without actually having a kid first?"

"I think it's a good idea, Howie." Bernadette adds from her spot on the floor.

The five teens just look at each other, hardly able to believe what they're hearing.


	14. Ch 14 Wedding Plans

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. Thank you guys for reading and commenting on my story! All reviews are appreciated. There are for sure going to be eighteen chapters to this story so it's almost done. SPOILER ALERT: this chapter as well as chapter 15, I'll post the same warning on it, contains quite a bit of spoilers from the season five finale. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend watching the episode before reading this. There are differences, but I loved the story in the finale so much, I took quite a bit from it as well.~

While Howard and Bernadette are excited about their wedding coming up so soon, everyone else is shocked beyond reason. How in the hell are they going to pull off an entire wedding in just a few days?

"Howard," Penny starts, "how are we going to plan a wedding within a week? It takes more planning than this, and you two have barely planned it at all. I mean, do you even have a wedding dress, Bernadette? Do you even know what flavor the cake is going to be, or who you are going to invite?"

"Penny, we don't want a big wedding, and I do have my wedding dress, remember? We've been considering going to Vegas for some time now, but I thought it would be too tacky." Bernadette replies, trying to calm Penny down. "Plus, I can't think of a better way to spend my wedding than with my future daughter."

"Still, you should at least have a special wedding."

"Well," Howard begins, "does anyone have any ideas?"

This gets the group thinking once more. Eventually, it is Raj who comes up with an idea. "Saturday morning the Google satellite will be over Pasadena. We could have a wedding photo from space!"

Everyone looks extremely impressed. "That's perfect Raj. So we have a date and time, what about a venue?"

"Why not have it on the roof of the building?" Leonard suggests. "The two of you hang out here all the time anyway, and the satellite will get a great view of the wedding."

"Perfect, so we have a date and venue. All we need now is an officiant." Bernadette says, looking around the room.

"Speak no more, you want me to do it. I accept, but only if I can do the ceremony in Klingon." Sheldon says, smiling insanely.

"Not all of us can speak Klingon, Sheldon." Monica says, looking incredibly excited at the prospect of an actual wedding. Her aunt and uncle's wedding at that.

Sheldon looks appalled. "You're my daughter, and you don't know Klingon? What has this world come to in your time?"

"Sheldon, I can't speak Klingon either. Only Anna and Mason can." Erica says, turning her attention back to the group right after.

"While we're on the subject, can any of you guys speak Klingon?" Leonard asks, curiosity taking over.

"None of us can, but at least one person from each family can. Anna and Mason from Sheldon's household, Orlando from Raj's, Shawn from Leonard's, and Aaron is learning from Howard's." Natalie explains.

"Anyway, we still need an officiant to perform the ceremony." Howard says, bringing everyone back to the topic at hand.

"How about all of you guys get officiated to perform the ceremony? I think it would be extremely fitting since all of you guys are like family to each other." Olivia suggests, looking around the room.

"That's a wonderful idea, but I don't think it would be right for me to officiate the wedding or whatever. I barely know these people." Missy speaks up, for once showing how she is related to Sheldon.

"Missy, I don't think she was talking about you. I don't think she was talking about Priya either." Erica supplies.

"Oh," Missy says, looking somewhat ashamed.

"Even if I do officiate the wedding and am with Raj, I'm still wearing my tiara." Amy declares, crossing her arms over her chest as if daring anyone to disagree with her.

"Even if all of this works out perfectly, the girls still need dresses, we still need to figure out a guest list, and we still need a cake." Penny reminds them.

"We can go shopping tomorrow for dresses, and I can bake a cake. I can even make it lactose-free so Leonard can actually try it." Natalie says, actually wanting the wedding to take place.

"You can't bake an entire wedding cake by yourself, Natalie. It takes a lot of preparation for professionals." Penny says.

"She won't have to do it by herself. We'll help her." Olivia announces, followed by a chorus of agreement from the other three girls.

"Well, there we go. We have our wedding plans. I think it's time to leave now, though. Are you coming with me, Olivia?" Howard asks, finally standing.

"No, you two should enjoy your time together. I know you haven't had much time to since we dropped by. Plus, we are going to leave at around ten tomorrow anyway to go dress shopping so this simplifies things a little bit." Olivia answers, smiling at her parents.

"Okay, if you're sure. Bernadette, want to spend the night with me tonight?" Howard asks, extending his hand to his future bride.

"I want to spend every night with you, Howard." she sweetly answers, delicately taking his hand to help her up. They walk out hand in hand.

This causes Amy to stand up as well and walk over to Raj. "Rajesh, would you do me the honor of spending the night with me tonight?"

Raj looks like he is about to jump for joy when he accepts her offer and practically runs out of the apartment.

"I think he's a little eager." Amy says in her robotic voice before walking out after him.

All Leonard has to do is look hopefully at Priya before she sighs, grabs his hand, and practically drags him out of the apartment, shutting the door behind her.

"Sheldon, since there are so many girls here, and both of our apartments are so small, how would you feel about sharing a bed with me again tonight?" Penny asks, walking toward the door as she sincerely hopes his answer is positive.

"I believe it would be acceptable." Sheldon smiles and joins her at the door. Before they leave, Sheldon turns around to speak to the girls. Before he can, however, they beat him to it.

"We know, we know, call you over if we need something." they all say simultaneously.

"Well then, money for the dresses is in Green Lantern's ass. Goodnight." he says, walking out of the door with Penny laughing behind him.

This causes all six of them to collapse in laughter as soon as the couple can't hear them anymore. "I can't believe the look on Shelly's face." Missy says as she laughs, holding her chest as if it would help her with the pain her ribs are causing her.

After a little while, the laughter dies down and Missy stands up. "This has been fun, but I'm going to bed. Which one of you is sleeping in the bed with me so I won't be surprised?"

Nikita volunteers, knowing exactly what Missy is going through, and Missy walks into Sheldon's room and shuts the door.

The girls stay up and talk for a little while before they too call it quits and go to respectful bedrooms while Olivia stays on the couch this time, being the shortest and all.

The next day comes quickly, and the girls, excluding Missy as Penny offered to let her try on some of Penny's own dresses, are ready to go dress shopping by 10:30. They take the bus to the mall first in hopes of getting lucky. Naturally, the last shop they choose to go into is the one in which they find something worthwhile.

"Hey what about this?" Monica asks, holding up a gold dress.

"I don't think it will work for you, being blonde and all, but I think it would be perfect for Olivia." Natalie answers, looking at the thing in more detail. It would go to Olivia's ankle on the right side but has a split on the left that will go up a little past the girl's knee. The halter neckline is accented with beads and connects on an open back. It is a size four so it would be a perfect fit for Olivia.

"It would've been a little small on me anyway." Monica says, agreeing with Natalie before taking it over to Olivia for her to try on. It is naturally beautiful on her, and all of the girls tell her so.

Erica's dress is found next. Even though Olivia has her gown she still wants to help the others. As she is searching, she comes across a light blue dress in size 2. It is strapless with a sweetheart neckline, has an embellished bust and pleated waist-line, and comes up to mid-calf.

"Monica, don't you think this dress would be perfect for Erica?" she asks, holding the ensemble up to her.

Monica takes it out of her hands and examines it. "Yeah, it is, and it should be a perfect fit too. Take this to her, Olivia."

Olivia does as she is told before looking for other dresses for the remaining three. Soon enough, Monica finds her own dress in the form of a size 6 fuchsia gown with floral accents on the one-shoulder strap and sweetheart neckline coming up to her knees.

Natalie is the next to find a dress. Hers is a size 4, floor-length, burnt orange dress with a low neckline, side cutouts, and an amazingly beaded back.

"What do you think of this, Nikki?" Natalie asks her cousin, holding up the dress.

"Kinda slutty, but beautiful all the same," Nikita answers, touching the fabric. "I think it'll look great on you."

While Natalie goes to try on the dress, Nikita finally finds her own. It is a pearl ensemble barely touching the girl's ankles with embellished cap-sleeves, open back, and a gathering of fabric from the bust to the waist. It is sophisticated, but glamorous and exactly Nikita's style.

As soon as the girls make their purchases, and essentially spend almost all of Sheldon's money they brought, they head out to lunch. After lunch, they go back to the apartment and spend the rest of the day with the group.

A few days later, and it is the day before the impromptu wedding. Natalie figured out the kind of cake she wanted to make the day before, after asking what the bride and groom are allergic to beforehand of course, and she bought all the ingredients within the same day.

"Are you guys ready to bake and decorate the wedding cake of the century?" Natalie asks, looking at her temporary baking crew.

"Yes, chef." they answer simultaneously.

"Good, because it's going to take a while."

And it does. It takes nearly the whole entire day to bake the six square tier cake. Natalie's idea is to make on tier for each person with a tier on top for the couple. Raj's tier is on bottom and is made of dark chocolate with caramel layering and vanilla frosting with black food coloring to make it look like the night sky and regular white vanilla bean frosting to design stars on the sides. Amy's tier is on top of Raj's. It is a classic Boston cream pie cake with milk chocolate frosting on top of it. Penny's tier is next, and it is made of strawberry with actual strawberries littered throughout it. The icing on top is a light buttercream frosting colored bright pink with darker pink zigzags made of white chocolate. Sheldon's tier is next, and Natalie knows his has to be completely different and over-the-top, just like him. For Sheldon, she makes a black forest cake without the clear bourbon for the cherries. There really is no need for Sheldon to have even an ounce of alcohol. For Leonard, she makes a simple, eggless chocolate cake with a simple glaze on top. Howard and Bernadette's tier is half angel food cake and half devil's food cake. It is dome-shaped, unlike the rest of the cake. A whipped-cream frosting is on top, and two customized figures designed to look exactly like Howard and Bernadette made entirely out of sugar. On Howard's side of the cake, the devil's food side, are heroes the gang is particularly fond of including: Spock (on Sheldon's tier of course), the Flash, Wonder Woman (Penny's tier), Superman, Green Lantern, and the Hulk. On Bernadette's side, the angel food side, are hearts of different sizes symbolizing her normalness against Howard's geekiness.

By the time the last tier is decorated and the last figure is created, it is nine at night, and the girls are panting.

"I can't believe we just spent twelve hours baking a freaking cake." Monica breathes as she collapses on the couch, Natalie beside her.

"That's the biggest cake I've ever made. I don't even want to look at it anymore." Natalie breathes, coughing right after.

"I've got a question." Olivia says from her face down position on the floor.

"What's that?" Erica says from the chair.

"How are we supposed to fit that thing in the fridge?"

This causes the other four girls to groan as it requires moving and thinking to figure it out. It's a good thing they talked Leonard and Sheldon into spending the night and Priya and Penny's because the kitchen isn't even cleaned. Poor Sheldon would have a conniption if he knew the state of his eating area. Just as the girls are about to get up again, they hear a knock on the door.

Wondering who it is, Nikita opens the door to find Raj on the other side. Too exhausted to speak, she opens the door wider to let him slip through.

"Maybe he can help." is all she says before laying back down in the floor.

"What can I help with?" Raj asks, not even needing to hesitate with the time travelers.

"We need you to figure out how to refrigerate that cake in there without completely destroying it." Natalie explains while barely moving.

"I could take it with me for the night. Amy has a huge refrigerator at her home." Raj explains after looking at the beautiful wedding cake.

"That would be great, but would you mind if one of us stayed with you and Amy so she could make sure the cake isn't damaged?" Natalie asks, looking up at Raj with a hopeful look on her face.

"I suppose I could as long as the volunteer is okay with sleeping on the couch. It is for Howard and Bernadette's wedding, after all."

"That's the spirit, Raj." Olivia exclaims from the floor. "Now who wants to go with him?"

"I will. I'm already up anyway." Nikita volunteers, swaying slightly as she goes into Leonard's room to get her pearl-colored dress, black open-toed shoes, and panties.

"Make sure you take a shower and are here in time for me to fix your hair tomorrow. The entire universe will be able to see the picture, you know." Monica says to Nikita before she leaves.

Nikita rolls her eyes before saying, "Yes, mother."

With that, Raj and Nikita carefully pack up the cake and head down to his vehicle.


	15. Ch 15 A Wedding to Remember

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. Thank you guys for reading and commenting on my story! All reviews are appreciated. I am so sorry I haven't updated in a while. It shouldn't be a problem after this chapter. There are for sure going to be eighteen chapters to this story so it's almost done. ~

Erica and Monica awake to the sound of Sheldon's insistent rapping of the door and calling of their names. Groaning, Monica turns over to see what time it is: 8:30. With eyes wide, she turns to her sister to make sure she is awake. Erica sees the time herself and hops out of bed, hurrying to pick out her clothes.

Monica gets out of bed herself and answers the door. "Sheldon, we're up, but we're running a bit late." she says as Erica runs out the door, nearly taking out her father in the process.

"I should say so." Sheldon says, looking miffed. "Now, where is their wedding cake?"

"Raj, Amy, and Nikita have it. They should be bringing it about any time now." Monica says as they move the conversation to the living room where Olivia, Missy, and Natalie are already dressed in their dresses and heels, watching TV.

As soon as the words leave Monica's mouth, Amy lets herself in the apartment wearing a dress only Amy would wear with the tiara Sheldon bought her resting on her head. Raj and Nikita follow soon after with the cake. They carefully sit it on the kitchen counter before taking seats at the table.

"Alright who's ready for a wedding?" Amy says in her monotone voice with a smile on her face.

This wakes Monica up a little bit more. "No one, yet. Olivia, let me get my straightener and hairspray. Your hair will be easier to work with than Natalie's." she says quickly before practically running back to retrieve the objects.

Soon, Olivia's hair is done to Monica's satisfaction. It is now perfectly straight, falling slightly past her shoulders and curves inward toward her face. Once Monica sprays it with hairspray, Erica comes walking out in her own dress, and Olivia runs to go take a shower.

Before Erica can sit down, Sheldon asks, "Erica, may we speak outside for a moment. I have something I wish to discuss with you."

Erica can see she won't be able to get out of it so she follows Sheldon down to the lowest level of the building.

"Sheldon what is this about? I don't need my feet hurting from these heels before wedding even starts." Erica says, hands on her hips.

"I have refrained from asking this question long enough. Erica, why are you and the others here? There must be a reason other than to test the time machine so what is it?"

Erica clearly pales. She can never lie when it comes to her father. Sighing, she answers, "Alright, but you aren't going to like it, and you can't interrupt me."

Taking a seat on the bottom step, she explains. "In our time, Missy doesn't live long after she gets away from her abusive ex. She commits suicide. Your friends saw how it affected you, and even we see it in our present time. Whenever Leonard came to us with a plan to possibly save Missy from herself a few days after the time machine was deemed ready for human testing, all four of us jumped at the chance." Erica explains as she watches her father twitch uncontrollably.

"She told me what Olivia said about her future. She also told me the story Nikita told her at the hospital. Are you telling me it was all a lie?" he manages to choke out, face impossibly red.

Erica flinches slightly. "Nikita's story was the absolute truth, but Olivia improvised a story on the spot. She's the writer of the group. She is actually planning on going to college to be a journalist."

"Are you telling me the sister who used to fight me all the time when we were younger actually commits suicide over some guy beating her?"

Erica just nods. "That's why we came back. We figured having Nikita to relate to would help her realize she's not alone. Plus, Olivia is a great storyteller so she could tell Missy about a future she could actually have. I think we really saved her."

Sheldon thinks for a moment before nodding slowly. "I think you have too. Now, wait a moment. Wouldn't going back in the time machine to save a person from dying essentially end the universe as we know it, or at the very least, create a major paradox?"

"Actually, since part of the mission was to test the time machine just to makes sure it works, and it was going to come back to this time anyway, it prevents a paradox from occurring. Since we only gave Missy hope, nothing more, nothing less, it will be her conscious decision to not commit suicide. She didn't know about the suicide, therefore, the universe is safe."

"How could you possibly know your slightly twisted knowledge would be correct?"

Erica looks into her father's eyes so much like her own. "We didn't. We just knew we couldn't let you deal with that kind of pain if we could help it."

Sheldon nods slowly, secretly happy he has such a good family. "So, what did future me say when I called you?"

"See, you didn't know about the plan until it was too late so the fact it was you who called worried all of us. Basically, you told us the plan was a success, and you were going to send us back right then and there, but I managed to get a few more days before having to be sent back." Erica explains with a slight smile on her face.

"Why were you so emotionless when you came back in the room?" Sheldon asks, apparently confused.

"Even though the mission was a success and I was unbelievably happy at that, I really like being here." Erica answers.

"Well, we better head back so Monica can do your hair." Sheldon replies, holding out a hand for his daughter to take with a real smile on his face.

Leonard and Priya show up just as Erica takes her father's hand with a bright smile. Even though Leonard and Priya are clearly confused, they say nothing and all together they walk back up to apartment 4A. Once inside, Monica is just finishing Natalie's hair. Natalie's hair is done in a beautiful up do with her side-bangs in spirals around her face.

"Looking beautiful, Natalie. Monica, do you want to fix my hair or Nikita's next?" Erica says sitting down on the couch.

"I've already fixed Nikita's. Look," Monica says, pointing in the kitchen.

Nikita stands so Erica can see Monica's masterpiece. Nikita's hair is done in a half-up style in which half of it is twisted and held with a sparkling silver clip at the back of her head with the rest curling over her shoulders. While Erica is looking at Nikita, Monica pulls Erica's extremely long hair over the chair.

As Monica is working on Erica's hair, Penny walks in, looking even more beautiful than usual. Even Sheldon is speechless by her beauty.

It takes Monica almost half an hour, but eventually she is done with Erica's hair. It is done in a messy bun at the nape of the neck with a few curled tendrils of hair flowing to her chest. To complete the look, Monica places one of her jeweled headbands on Erica's head.

"There, perfect." Monica says, clapping her hands together in a proud fashion.

"Thanks, Monica, but who's doing your hair?" Erica asks, standing.

"I'll do it myself. All I need to do is curl it for a rock star-like look." Monica says, taking the curling iron to the bathroom.

About ten minutes later, she comes out of the bathroom with edgy waves added to her blonde hair, a perfect contrast to her dress. As soon as she walks out, the door opens to reveal the bride and groom with the bride's father and groom's mother.

"Howie, go on up to the roof. I'll be there in a minute." Bernadette says, looking straight at Olivia.

Howard complies, shooting a slightly worried look at his fiancée before heading up. The rest of them follow. Except for Olivia. Before Olivia can comprehend what is going on, she is being smothered in a tight hug from her short mother. She hugs back, apparently confused.

When Bernadette pulls back, Olivia speaks. "Thanks, Bernadette, but what was that for?"

"It's my way of apologizing for the way I acted before when we first met. I just never thought I would ever have kids, and you showing up saying I had five kind of scared me." Bernadette explains, looking remorseful.

"Oh, mom," Olivia says, hugging her once more. "It's okay. I know you didn't like the thought of kids, but I know you love all five of us very much."

"I'm glad I do. I was so worried I would end up resenting you, but I don't think I can. Howie and I created a very beautiful daughter." Bernadette says, hugging the girl back with all her might.

Eventually Olivia pulls back with tears in her eyes. "Come on, we have a wedding to get to. And Mom, you look incredibly beautiful right now."

Bernadette wipes the one escaped tear off her daughter's cheek and says, "I'm not nearly as beautiful as you."

With that, mother and daughter ascend the stairs to the roof where all the others are waiting. As they open the door, Olivia discreetly takes her seat beside her best friends, and Bernadette's father takes Bernadette's hand. Erica plays the wedding march on Penny's iPhone, and the wedding of a lifetime begins.

At the end of the isle, Bernadette's father hands her to Howard without so much as a kiss on the cheek before he sits down. Howard and Bernadette join hands before their best friends in the world.

Leonard is the first to speak. "As we all know, love and life work in mysterious ways. And you never know how either one of them will turn out. We are gathered here today to bind two people for whom love has worked out forever. Howard and Bernadette, I wish you all the best, and I hope love continues to work out for you both."

Penny is next. "Howard and Bernadette, I know you two planned on having a big, fancy wedding, but when you're in love, it doesn't matter where or how these things happen. It just matters that you have each other."

Before Howard's mother can say anything, Raj speaks. "Howard and Bernadette, it fills my… sorry I need a moment." he stops, tears in his eyes. Amy puts her arm on his shoulder, comforting him the best she can. Eventually he starts speaking again. "It fills my heart with such joy to see my best friend in the entire world finally settle down with the woman of his dreams. No one ever thought it would happen."

Howard gives Raj a look as Amy begins speaking. "Howard and Bernadette, thank you for making me the maid of honor. Just so you know, I'll be happy to do it again if need be." The entire group looks at her as she smiles innocently.

Finally, it is Sheldon's turn. He doesn't even start to do the ceremony in Klingon. "The need to share one's life with another has always puzzled me, but thanks to Penny, I finally understand. The need comes from wanting to have someone to share one's accomplishments and milestones with. Howard and Bernadette, I hope you have found your partner to fulfill that need with like I believe I have found mine."

Penny smiles and reaches for Sheldon's hand. Sheldon accepts it and intertwines their fingers together.

"We understand you have written your own vows." Penny says, smiling from ear to ear as Raj hands the two of them their rings.

Bernadette nods as she speaks first, putting the ring on Howard's finger. "Howard Joel Wolowitz, I love you with all my heart and can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together."

"Bernadette Maryanne Rostenkowski, before I met you, I couldn't imagine spending my life with just one person. Now, I can't imagine spending one day of it without you." Howard says, putting the ring on his new wife's finger.

"By the power vested in us by the state of California…" the five speak simultaneously, Sheldon throwing in "and the Klingon High Council…" "We now pronounce you husband and wife." They finish together, clapping as Howard and Bernadette seal their union with a kiss.

The girls, including Priya and Missy, stand and clap as well. "How does it feel to witness your parent's wedding in person." Nikita whispers in Olivia's ear as she claps.

"Amazing and weird all at once," Olivia answers quietly.

"It's so beautiful." Penny cries, hugging Sheldon and burying her face in his neck. Sheldon hugs her back, not even hesitating.

Leonard sees this and smiles. Anyone who can change Sheldon that much deserves to be with him. Priya walks over to Leonard and kisses him straight on the mouth. Leonard kisses her back, placing his hands in her black hair.

Amy simply smiles at Raj and lays her head on his shoulder as she links their fingers together.

This is how the satellite captures the wedding. Four couples happy to be with each other and five teenage girls trying to decide if they should be disgusted by the scene.


	16. Important Fanfiction Petition

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. I normally don't put author's notes up as chapters because I can't stand to read them, but this time it is seriously important. I'm sure you all have heard about it before, but in case you haven't, is trying to remove thousands of stories from its archives because of them having graphic violence or lemon scenes. Ever since the website was started, it was a place for people like us to write whatever our imagination came up with. They should not remove stories with inappropriate content altogether, and it is up to us to stop it. Please go to .org, search for , and sign the petition. Also, post something similar to this on your stories, tell your friends who read fan fiction, and do whatever you can to get the word out there.

In other words, I am working on chapter 16, but I won't be able to post next week because I'm going on a cruise.


	17. Apology

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. I normally don't put author's notes up as chapters because I can't stand to read them, but this time it is seriously important. I am so, so, so sorry to leave all you guys hanging for as long as I have. I've been working on different works, my own stories instead of fan fiction, and this one got put on the backburner. But I am working on this story again, and I am absolutely determined to finish it. It will be eighteen chapters long, and if all goes well chapter 16 will be posted either tomorrow or Sunday one. So, I hope you guys can forgive me and are still with me long enough to see this story to the end.


	18. Ch 16 Temporary Goodbyes

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. I know it's late from what I said it would be, but with finals and everything, I have been busy. But here it is, finally. The sixteenth chapter! Also, the seventeenth chapter is already written so you don't have to worry about waiting so long again for this story. After that, it's only one more chapter to go, and it's done. Well, anyway, here is the long awaited sixteenth chapter, hope you guys enjoy it. ~

The girls wake up early with sadness in their hearts. It is finally time to return to the real world, their actual home. Erica wakes up first in Sheldon's bedroom, not even bothering to stretch like she normally does. Instead, she walks out of the room and into the living room where her future father is already in his spot, eating cereal and watching some show on the Science channel.

Erica quietly sits down beside of her father, knowing he was aware of her presence the minute she walked into the room with his Vulcan hearing. Sheldon sits his now-empty bowl of cereal down on the coffee table and turns toward her.

"Are you ready to return to your normal life, Erica?"

Erica turns toward him, sadness in her eyes, and shrugs. Knowing he will need more of an explanation, she says, "I don't know. I mean, I need to get back to school and enjoy my last year of high school, and I need to continue training for the Olympics, but I like it here. Life is less stressful, and I have never been as close to my twin sister as I am now. I'm just kind of afraid that closeness will go away once we're back to our normal lives."

Sheldon throws his arm around her, barely thinking about it anymore. "Erica, there is no reason you and Monica won't be close anymore just because you're back in your own time."

"I know. I'm just overreacting, but I can't help but worry about it." She says, hugging him.

"Sis, we're still going to be close when we go back." they hear, making them turn around to see Monica standing there with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face.

"How much did you hear, Nica?" Erica asked, standing up and walking toward her sister.

"Enough to know you're worried we won't be close anymore once we go back. You know, Ricki, worrying over nothing is my job in this family. Not the extremely smart gymnast's." Monica says, pulling her sister into a hug.

"Oh shut up, you." Erica says into Monica's hair, laughing. "I'm human, not a robot."

"I know. Dad's the robot in the family." Monica says, smiling at her father over Erica's shoulder.

"Thank you for the compliment, Monica." Sheldon said, smiling at his daughter.

Monica just laughs, shakes her head, and says, "You're welcome, Dad."

"Hey, Monica, do you remember how we used to bug Dad when we were little?" Erica asks, a funny gleam in her eye and a playful smile on her face.

Monica looks at her sister like she is crazy before it dawns on her. A big, opened-mouthed smile forms on her face as she says, "Let's do it."

The girls proceed to jump on their father and smother him in kisses. He screams and laughs, shouting, "Girls, get off me!"

It goes on for a few minutes, Sheldon being attacked by his daughters and enjoying it just as much as them, when they hear, "You know, if someone told me a few months ago or even just a couple weeks ago that my roommate would have two girls on his lap and actually enjoy it, I'd have them admitted into an insane asylum."

The trio looks up to see Leonard with his arm around Priya, smiling bemusedly. Monica moves the, now messy, blonde hair out of her eyes as she stands and gives the couple the biggest hug her long arms can manage. The couple hugs her back, never letting go of each other.

"I can't believe you're leaving." Leonard whispers in her ear, moving his hand up and down her back.

"Me either. But we'll see each other again real soon." Monica whispers back.

All of a sudden, someone else joins the hug. Monica, Priya, and Leonard turn slightly to see Natalie hugging them, tears in her eyes. Monica moves out of the group hug, giving Natalie time with her parents.

Erica stands up, giving her father time to breathe, and moves over to Monica. "Hang on, if Priya slept with Leonard and there is no doubt in my mind about what they did, even if I didn't hear them, where did you sleep?"

"I slept in Penny's apartment. You were already asleep in Dad's room, thanks for taking my spot by the way, and Natalie was already asleep on the couch so there was no hope of getting her to share." Monica explains, smiling slightly.

"Oh, sorry Monica." Erica says, rubbing her neck sheepishly.

"It's alright." Monica says, smiling before her face turns serious. "When is Dad sending us back?"

"Around noon." Erica answers, knowing her memory will not allow her to forget it.

"We need to do something before we go back, Erica."

"Like what, Monica? We're leaving in a couple hours, and we've stayed here for over a week. There is nothing else we can do that we haven't already done." Erica replies logically, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What about telling them each one truth about their lives in the future? That would be something pretty cool. Or we could each pick one of them to tell a truth about the future to."

"I don't know. We've tampered with the future enough, and we're extremely fortunate we haven't completely destroyed the space-time continuum. What could revealing even more about the future possibly do to jeopardize it?"

"If what we have done would have destroyed the universe, don't you think it would have already? Come on, Ricki, what could a little more information as a parting gift possibly hurt?" Monica asks, looking her sister in the eyes.

After a few minutes, Erica sighs and says, "Fine, but if our present is rapidly different than how we remembered, it's on you."

Monica hugs Erica, screaming, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Erica!"

"Monica, I'm going to need my eardrum intact, you know. I don't want to be deaf before I can even vote legally." Erica states, pulling away from her sister long enough to cover her ears.

"What are you guys screaming about?" Natalie asks as everyone in the room looks at the twins.

"It's a surprise." Erica answers, seeing the other eyes on them. "Monica, why don't you take Natalie outside and explain it to her since it's _your_ idea and all." Erica says, grabbing Natalie and Monica's arms, pushing them out the door slightly.

Once the door shuts, all eyes turn to Erica, making her squirm slightly.

"What was that about, Erica?" Leonard asks, letting go of Priya and walking slightly toward her.

Erica sighs. "You'll see in a little while. Personally, I think it is beyond reckless and should be avoided completely, but we all know how my sister can be by now."

At this, everyone nods with Sheldon saying, "Just like her mother."

"Yeah, so, if something catastrophic happens, feel free to blame her. And probably me because I gave her the okay to do it." She says, smacking herself on the forehead at the end.

"It's not your fault, Erica. She's a Sheldon and Penny hybrid. Even you, another hybrid of Sheldon and Penny, can't compete with her stubbornness on certain topics." Leonard says, sitting down on the couch.

"Erica, we need you out here!" Monica's voice shouts through the door, catching the group's attention.

Erica looks at them, shrugs her shoulders, and heads out the door, shutting it behind her. Outside the apartment, she sees Monica and Natalie with the rest of the group of time travelers, all with arms crossed except for Monica.

"This is insane, Erica. You, of all people, should know this." Nikita speaks first.

"I know it is, but you try getting that through to _her_." Erica replies, crossing her arms and nodding toward Monica, who had the decency to at least blush.

"I know this entire mission was risky, but this is almost too much." Olivia speaks, voice so high it squeaks.

"Come on, guys, wouldn't it be cool for them to know something interesting about themselves in the future. It would be a nice parting gift." Monica says, eyes widening as she pleads her case.

"I'm sorry, Monica, but I think we all can agree it's too risky." Natalie answers, earning nods from the rest of the group.

"But Erica said we could." Monica says, smiling slightly as the rest of the girls turn toward Erica.

"I'm sorry, but it's hard to argue with my sister on things like this. But, come on, you guys don't have to listen to me."

"You're usually the leader when it comes to these things, Erica. It's strange to not follow you when we're on a mission you know more about than anyone else." Olivia says.

"Well, someone else can be a leader for a change. I'm going back inside to spend these last couple of hours with my family, and you guys can choose what is best for the group." Erica answers, walking back inside and shutting the door.

"What is Erica in a mood about?" Penny asks as she opens the door to her apartment, finding the group of time travelers in slight distress.

"It's nothing, Penny. She's just sad we're going home is all. We all are." Olivia answers, eyes tearing up slightly.

"Oh, sweeties," Penny comments, pulling all four girls into a hug.

"We're going to miss you too." Penny whispers, tears threatening to fall from her light green eyes.

"Group hug!" They suddenly hear someone scream, followed by another addition to the hug.

The girls turn slightly to see Amy in their group with Raj a few feet away, waving sheepishly. The group disbands, turning to Raj.

"Hello, Penny and time traveling teenagers, how are you today?" Raj asks, smiling widely.

Penny looks slightly stunned. "Raj, it's seriously going to take a while for me to get used to you talking to me without booze."

The teenage girls laugh as Raj blushes and his smile turns slightly sheepish. Amy simply smiles and wraps her arms around Raj, making him blush even more.

"Well, how about we go inside with the others?" Nikita asks, grimacing slightly at her parents' display of affection.

The group agrees and moves inside, Amy opting for Raj's hand as they go inside. As Amy looks at Raj, his mocha skin, kind dark eyes, and unbelievably white smile, she doesn't know how she could've possibly been attracted to Dr. Sheldon Cooper. No, Penny is a better match for him than she ever was, Amy concedes, leaning into Raj slightly and smiling.

This is how Sheldon notices his former girlfriend when she enters the apartment, and he even smiles slightly with her. This just proves his relationship with Amy Farrah Fowler should've remained purely platonic. He could have never made that wonderful vixen as happy as his colleague has.

When he sees Penny enter the room after them, his smile widens substantially. At the same time, he admits to himself, no one could have made him happier than his perky blonde neighbor from across the hall.

Penny instantly walks over to the couch and takes a seat in between Sheldon and Leonard. Sheldon, to her surprise and pleasure, takes her hand and links their fingers together with almost no hesitation. Penny smiles and lays her head on his shoulder, looking up into his big, blue eyes before her eyes rest on his hair.

"Sheldon, why is your hair messed up?"

At that, Sheldon looks from Penny to his two daughters trying to hide behind Natalie and Nikita.

"_Your _daughters," he begins, trying not to smile, "decided I needed to be jumped on and smothered in kisses this morning as a means of affection."

Penny, noticing Sheldon trying to conceal a smile, kisses him once on the lips. It has the desired effect as Sheldon's smile breaks out. "It takes two to tango, Sweetie. They're _your_ daughters too."

"I don't see how we produced two children who are so smart like me, but are so much like you, it makes my head spin." Sheldon whispers in her ear, smiling slightly at the girls.

"Well, you have to admit, we did or will do a good job." Penny whispers back, kissing him on the cheek.

"Can you two please stop whispering? It makes us think we're in trouble for something." Erica says.

The couple laughs and separates slightly, still keeping their fingers intertwined.

"Okay, just for the record, anyone who can make Sheldon actually laugh instead of what he normally does, deserves to be with him." A new voice in the room says.

Everyone in the room turns to see Howard with his arms around Bernadette, with Missy behind them.

"What is this, 'everyone come into apartment 4A without knocking' day?" Sheldon asks, still not able to completely wipe the smile off his face.

"Now, Shelly, you can be nice to your little friends today. After all, they are newlyweds." Missy says, smiling with him.

Before Sheldon can reply, Leonard responds. "Speaking of the newlyweds, I thought you two wouldn't come out of your room for a week."

Bernadette blushes slightly as Howard answers, "Well, we thought we'd visit our future daughter and her friends one last time before they had to go."

"Speaking of which, how much longer do we have left, Erica?" Nikita asks as Olivia brings both of her parents into a hug.

Erica looks at her watch with sad eyes. "About ten minutes."

The girls groan with Monica saying, "How did time fly by _that_ fast?"

"Well, if this is the only time left, come here girls." Missy says, pulling the girls aside from Olivia into a hug.

"I'm going to miss you so much." Missy says.

After the hug-fest is over, Missy pulls Nikita to the side. "Nikita, I just want to say thank you so much for sharing your story with me. I don't know what I would've done without you."

Nikita looks at the woman with knowing eyes and a small smile. "It was my absolute pleasure, Missy. I'm glad I was able to help."

Erica looks at the other girls. "Well, what did you guys decide?"

"We decided that whoever wanted to risk it can go ahead. Thing about it is, after you stormed back into the apartment, no one thought it was worth it. Not even Monica." Natalie answers.

"Okay," Erica says, looking at her father and thinking about everything her father would want to know about his future self.

"You know what, I think I'll risk it for one small piece of information." She says, walking over to her father, pulling him to the side, and whispering something in his ear.

Afterwards, all five girls gather in the center of the group with Sheldon standing petrified where Erica left him.

"Well, it's been a wonderful journey. I think I speak for all of us when I say we have learned so much here. About ourselves, about our parents. But it's time to go back, and we will see all of you in the future when you get to raise us to be the wonderful girls you see here." Nikita says as all five girls wave before disappearing with an earth-shattering blast of noise that shakes the entire apartment.

When everything settles, the group turns to Sheldon who still remains in the position he was in.

"Sheldon, what the hell is wrong with you?" Leonard asks, wrapping an arm around Priya.

It comes out as stuttering at first before Sheldon finally spits out the secret Erica found so important to tell him. "I'm going to win a Nobel Prize!"


	19. Ch 17 A Futuristic Graduation

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. Thanks to my friend, this chapter was posted a day early. So, you guys have her to thank. Chapter 18 is being written now, and once it is finished, this story will be done. Hard to believe, and I swear I will probably just sit and stare at my computer for half an hour once I finish those last few words. It's been an amazing journey, and it's almost over.~

Erica wakes up to her alarm clock blaring in her ear, making her roll almost on top of her bedmate, Natalie. Of course, Natalie is a sound sleeper so it doesn't stir her a bit. It's hard to believe today is their high school graduation. Erica can clearly remember her first day of school as a terrified freshman. She had heard stories of what happened to her dad and uncles in high school, and she didn't want those things to happen to her. Fortunately, nothing of the sort did.

Erica sighs as she stands, turning around to stretch into a backbend as she does so. As is her morning ritual, she back flips back into a standing position. Her thoughts are starting to sway toward her ten-day expedition into the past. She wonders how her family is faring in that time now. Do they miss her and her sisters?

As she ponders these things, Anna's knocking interrupts her. Anna has her father's special knocking style, and no one can ignore that. After the third round, Erica opens the door for her eccentric little sister.

"What is it, Anna?" Erica asks, looking over toward Natalie to see if Anna woke her up at all. Naturally, Natalie's still asleep.

"Dad wanted me to make sure you two were awake. You can't be late for your own graduation, after all." Anna explains, light green eyes wide awake despite the early hour.

"Anna, it's seven in the morning. We have to be at graduation by 9:30. We'll make it." Erica replies, shaking her head in amusement.

"You have hair so long it touches your butt. Do you know how long it will take you to fix it?"

"Anna, it's my hair. Of course I know how long it takes to fix it." Erica says as she picks out her dress she is going to wear.

"That's a beautiful dress, Erica." Anna comments, looking at it in slight awe.

It truly is, Erica thinks, looking at the dress herself. It is a dark purple dress coming up a little higher than her knee with spaghetti straps and lacing in the back.

"I'm going to take a shower. Make sure Natalie, Monica, Nikita, and Olivia are awake by the time I get out." Erica orders as she walks through blue door to her own bathroom.

"Erica, Nikita and Olivia are already awake." Anna calls after her.

Erica's response is to give her a thumb's up over her shoulder right before she shuts the door.

Anna sighs before setting to her task. She first tries shaking Natalie awake. This makes the girl moan slightly, but it doesn't wake her. Anna blows a piece of brown hair out of her eyes before proceeding to shake the girl once more. After this doesn't work, Anna walks down the stairs to the kitchen where Nikita, Olivia, and Mason are enjoying her dad's pancakes.

"Hey, Anna. Having trouble waking Natalie again?" Olivia asks, drinking a little of her milk afterwards.

"Yeah, and I'm not going to stand for it today. It is her graduation, and she is not going to miss it on my watch." Anna explains as she fills a bucket of water.

Sis, don't you think you're taking this a little too far? It's not our graduation." Mason asks from his spot at the large table, his light blue eyes alive with amusement.

Anna simply glares at him before taking the half-full bucket of water back upstairs. Two minutes later, a bloodcurdling scream engulfs the entire house followed by rapid footsteps tumbling down the stairs and toward the kitchen. This causes Sheldon and Penny to walk out of their bedroom just as Anna comes sprinting through the kitchen followed by a soaking wet, pissed as hell Natalie.

Sheldon shakes his head as he calmly raises his hand. The girls instantly stop running and turn toward Sheldon.

"No running in the house. Now, what is the problem?" he asks in a slightly scolding tone, looking at Natalie for an explanation.

"I was sleeping when _she_," Natalie points at Anna whom is hiding behind Mason, "dumped a bucket of water on me."

"She needed to wake up so she could get ready for her graduation. Not to mention, she needs a shower anyway so no harm done." Anna explains from behind Mason whom is shaking with the effort to not laugh out loud.

"Anna, don't dump water on sleeping persons anymore. Natalie, stop chasing Anna and go take a shower." Sheldon calmly explains as he holds on to his wife's hand.

Nikita and Olivia finish their breakfast as Mason loses the battle not to laugh before going upstairs to Monica's room. Surprisingly, Monica is already awake and putting her dress on. Monica's strapless dress is forest green with brown swirls below her breasts. It reaches her kneecaps, but has slits on each of her legs that go up to about mid-thigh.

"That's gorgeous, Monica." Olivia gushes, clapping her hands together.

"Thanks, Olivia." Monica says, smiling at her. She tries zipping up her dress, but she only gets it so far.

"Olivia, can you zip me up the rest of the way?"

Olivia concedes before picking up her own knee-high, blood red dress from the closet. Nikita does the same for her off-the-shoulder pink dress.

Precisely one hour later, all five girls are ready to walk down the stairs where their families are waiting in the living room. Before this, they group hug for what seems like the last time.

"I'm going to miss you guys." Monica says, wiping a tear away.

"It's not the end. We'll still be in touch. Not to mention, we all get to go to London in July to support Erica." Olivia says, hugging Monica.

"Yeah, high school is not the end." Erica says, joining their hug.

"Our lives are just beginning." Natalie joins, hugging them as well.

Nikita doesn't say anything. She just joins the hug.

Erica is the first one down. She is wearing three-inch black heels with straps crisscrossing across her feet. Her hair is curled and pulled back in a high ponytail under her blue cap with red and white tassels.

Monica comes down after her. Monica is wearing simple two-inch brown heels with one strap across her ankle. Her bangs are twisted and clipped in the back with the rest of her hair curled down.

Natalie is the next down the stairs. She is wearing a sparkling silver halter-gown that comes down to mid-calf with three-inch silver heels instead of her gown. Her hair is done in a simple up-do on top of her head with silver glitter all around. Once she is down the stairs, she puts her cap and gown on.

Olivia and Nikita are the last to walk down the stairs. Olivia's hair is parted to the side and is stick-straight while Nikita's hair is wavy and down her back, the way she normally has it.

Once all five are down the stairs and standing side by side, their mothers start taking pictures. Eventually when the girls are almost blind, they stop, but this doesn't stop the tears.

Finally, they all make it to the school with a little time to spare. Before Erica and Monica can join the other seniors, Sheldon stops them.

"Before you go, Missy asked me to tell the two of you congratulations, and she apologizes for not being here."

"Tell her it's fine, Dad." Monica says before hugging him and going to join the others.

"Erica, I want you to know I am very proud of you. You are more than I could've ever asked for in a daughter. You, Monica, and Anna all are." Sheldon says.

"Oh, Dad," Erica responds before hugging him tightly, burying her face in his chest.

"There's more." Sheldon replies, pulling away from his daughter slightly.

He pulls out a jewelry box from his jacket pocket before handing it to her. Erica slowly opens it to find a gold necklace with a graduation cap pendent. On the cap is a heart. When she looks to her father for an explanation, he shrugs.

"Call it a gift for being valedictorian and for risking the balance of the universe to save my sister." Sheldon manages to get out before being pulled into a tight hug once more.

"Thanks, Dad." she says before turning around so he can put it on her.

Once the clasp is closed, Erica kisses her father on the cheek and walks over to the other soon-to-be graduates.

Soon enough, the ceremony starts, and all the seniors take their seats. Once the music is off and the principal speaks for a good twenty minutes, Natalie walks onto the stage as salutatorian.

"Good morning friends, relatives, teachers, staff, and fellow graduates. Thank you for teaching us what we needed to know and supporting us through all our trials, ideas, and decisions. I know these speeches are supposed to be chock full of motivation, but I'll leave that to the valedictorian this year. I do have a piece of advice, however. If there is someone in this room who has supported you and truly loved you, most likely there is more than one, hold onto that person. There are only a handful of people on the planet we can honestly count on. Don't lose a single person if you can help it because they are that rare." During the applause, Natalie walks down the stage to her seat.

A few others speak and then it is finally Erica's turn. Taking a deep breath, she slowly walks up the stairs to center-stage, being careful not to trip.

"As my wonderful salutatorian said, good morning everyone and welcome. I don't know how the rest of you realized you were going to graduate, but it kind of crept up on me and punched me in the stomach. This was it. After this, I would never be in high school again. I might never see these people again. When I realized this, I cried myself to sleep. When I woke up, however, I remembered something a very wise man once told me. When it comes down to it, you will regret the things you didn't do more than the things you did. Dreams don't have to be just figments of your imagination if you work toward them. So dream big. Tell yourself you want to be a rock star, write a best-selling novel, go to space, or win a Nobel Prize, and then work toward it. Some people say your life flashes before your eyes right before you die. Make sure your lives are worth watching." With this, Erica walks off the stage to the sound of applause.

The principal then walks up to the microphone and says, "I now welcome Monica Cooper to the stage."

Monica walks up the stairs and picks up an acoustic guitar from a dark corner of the stage before sitting down on a black stool the principal placed there before the microphone.

"I'll be singing Whenever You Remember by Carrie Underwood, today. I know it's an old song, but I think it fits this class perfectly." Monica announces, a twinge of nervousness in her voice.

She then begins singing. The song goes on for almost four minutes, and once she is done, the audience is completely silent. Eventually, when Monica is almost in tears, the clapping starts. The crowd claps for almost two minutes when Monica finally puts the guitar back and takes her seat once more.

The principal moves the stool to the back of the stage before speaking once more. "We will now give out diplomas. Please stand."

The entire first row, including Erica and Natalie, stands and starts walking toward the stage.

"Erica Michelle Cooper, valedictorian and graduating summa cum laude," he calls as Erica walks across the stage to get her diploma.

"Natalie Clarisse Hofstadter, salutatorian and graduating magna cum laude," he calls as Natalie does the same.

A few more names are called before, "Monica Belle Cooper, graduating cum laude," is called.

Many more names are called before, "Nikita Destiny Koothrappali, graduating cum laude," is called.

Finally, "Olivia Adele Wolowitz, graduating cum laude", is called as one of the last names.

Once the final graduates to walk across the stage and receive their diplomas are seated, the principal says, "Everyone, please stand."

The entire room stands, many with tears in their eyes. Even Sheldon is not excluded from the emotion almost palpable in the room as he wipes a tear from his eye.

"Hard to believe our oldest are graduating, isn't it?" Leonard asks in his ear, wiping his own eyes.

"You could say that." Sheldon quietly replies.

"Seniors, please move your tassels from right to left." The seniors do so.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce this the graduating class of 2033 Pasadena High School." As soon as the words leave his mouth, the new graduates throw their caps into the air. Confetti flies through the air as some teens greet their families, hug each other, and pick up their caps.

When Olivia and the others make their way out of the throngs of people, something hits Olivia right in the legs. Olivia looks down to see what it is, she sees her little brother, Aaron.

"David says you're going away now that you're not in school and I won't get to see you anymore. I don't want you to leave."

Olivia glares at David before picking Aaron up and smoothing his blonde hair. "Aaron, I'm not going anywhere right now. Even when I do, you'll get to see me on the computer and talk to me every day."

"Great, just when I thought I would get rid of you." David mumbles, his dark hair falling into his dark green eyes.

"Brat, I know you're going to miss me too." Olivia says, taking her hand from Aaron's hair in favor of messing up David's.

David grumpily tries to smooth his hair back down as Laura walks over to Olivia. "I can't believe I'm going to be the only girl in the house besides Mom when August comes around."

"I know, but you'll be fine." Olivia says, tucking a long piece of blonde hair behind the younger girl's ear.

"I really am going to miss you, Olivia. I know we haven't been exactly close, but I'm still going to miss you."

"Well, with you out of the house, I'm the oldest kid." Tim adds.

"I bet you are so happy about that. Right, Timothy?"

"Don't call me that." Tim says, anger bringing out the green flecks in his brown eyes.

"Sorry, so what were you saying?"

"Come over as much as possible because I'm not sure I can handle the little monsters on my own."

Olivia laughs at this. "Will do."

Meanwhile, Nikita and Orlando are having a conversation. "I can't believe you're moving away in August. It's like I'm going to be an only child." Orlando says, hugging his sister.

"You know we'll stay in touch, right?" Nikita replies, laughing into her brother's broad shoulder.

"I know, but it won't be the same without you, Erica, Monica, Natalie, and Olivia being over every other day."

"Be good, Orlando."

"I would say the same, but I think we both know you can't."

Natalie sighs as she looks at her two younger brothers. "Don't kill each other okay?" They nod and hug their sister at the same time. She hugs them back, tears getting in their hair. When they are done, Natalie, Shawn, and Isaac walk over to Nikita and Orlando. "Are you two ready to go?"

Nikita and Orlando agree, and soon, they are all outside.

"Are you guys ready to leave?" Erica asks, speaking as normally as she can with tears still falling.

"Yeah, a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, right?" Natalie mentions, hugging Erica from the side.

"I say we take the first few steps to our cars so we can enjoy a nice round of Halo." Mason says, already walking toward his father's car.

Everyone agrees, and they walk toward their respective vehicles. "But it isn't Halo night." Sheldon calls after them, walking toward his car anyway.


	20. Ch 18 Olympic Fail

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. I know, I know I said over and over that this story will only be eighteen chapters long. Well, I started writing chapter 18, and it was going to be hands down the biggest chapter of the entire story. It got so big that I thought it would be better to break it up into two chapters. So, here is chapter 18, finally, but the last chapter will not be posted for a few more days. So while this amazing journey is coming to a close, it is not over yet. ~

Monica wakes up to an empty bed that should have her twin sister Erica under the covers. Sighing, she gets up and stretches. She has a feeling she knows exactly where Erica is. Making her way through the hotel suite, she finds her parents with her younger sister and brother.

"Mom, Dad, where is Erica?" Monica asks, moving her hand through her blonde hair.

"She's in the hotel's gym, practicing her routine one more time." Sheldon answers, turning toward Monica.

"Why is she there? She knows she has her routine down." Monica replies exasperated, picking up a room key and heading out the door.

Anna runs to join her. "We have to leave in half an hour to get good seats and so Erica can talk to her coach, you know?" Anna says once she catches up, long brown hair in a single braid reaching her bra strap.

"I know." Monica answers distractedly when she thinks of something. "When are the others going to be ready to leave?"

"As you know, since the only reason Aunt Missy and Uncle Zack came with us was so they and our cousins could see more of the world and so she could babysit the ones who didn't want to watch the Olympics. The ones who do include: our non-biological aunts and uncles, Olivia, Natalie, Nikita, me, Mason, Tim, Shawn, and Orlando. It shouldn't be too long before they are ready." Anna explains, sounding every bit like her father.

"Jeez kid, you need to slow down." Monica says, barely understanding half of what her sister said when they arrive at the training room.

Inside they find Erica practicing her Olympics routine on the uneven bars. She does it perfectly, but she stumbles slightly on the dismount. Monica and Anna run over.

"You okay, Erica?" Monica asks, concerned.

Erica breathes deeply as she wipes sweat off her forehead. "I'm fine, but I really need to land this routine."

Monica places her hand on Erica's sweat-soaked shoulder, trying to ignore how gross it is. "Erica, you're going to do great. Stop worrying."

"You don't understand, Monica. If I don't perfect this routine, I'll have no chance of winning a gold medal because my floor routines are always awful. I need to get my score high enough so my floor routine won't matter as much." Erica says, shaking Monica's hand off her as she jumps up onto the lower bar, preparing to go over her routine again.

"I know how much that means to you, Erica, but you're not helping by tiring yourself out before you even have a chance to compete today."

"We have to leave in about half an hour, you know." Anna mentions as she jumps on the trampoline.

"What!" Erica screeches, slipping and falling on her back.

"Erica!" Monica and Anna scream, running over to Erica.

Erica slowly sits up, brushing some of her hair over her shoulder. Monica offers her a hand, and she takes it. Eventually, she stands with the help of Monica, wincing as she does so.

"Erica, are you okay?" Monica asks, incredibly concerned for her twin.

"I'll be fine. We need to go before we're late." Erica replies, already walking toward the door.

"Hang on, you can't actually be thinking about competing like this, can you?" Monica asks, catching up to her.

"Yes I am, Monica. Not competing is not an option." Erica replies, looking her sister in the eyes before walking up the stairs, pain already diminishing.

"Potentially becoming paralyzed is not an option either, Erica!" Monica screams as she and Anna walk after her.

"The pain's already going away so this conversation is over." Erica replies before opening the door to her hotel suite. She is instantly smothered by hugs from her three best friends.

"I can't believe we're here in London to support you as you finally win your gold medal!" Olivia shouts in Erica's ear, hugging her even tighter.

Erica laughs. "Thanks guys, but I need to take a shower before we go so I better hurry." With that, she runs into the room she and Monica share.

The girls are all happily chatting about the Olympics while Anna walks over to join Shawn, Mason, and Tim until Natalie sees Monica's worried face.

"What's wrong, Monica?" This causes the other girls to notice as well.

"I'm worried about Erica. She fell off the lower bar today, and I saw her wincing when I helped her up. She still wants to compete today, and I'm not sure it's a good idea." Monica explains, sitting down on the couch.

"She didn't seem hurt a few minutes ago." Nikita states, sitting down across from Monica. "Not to mention, even if she was, she would compete anyway. Any hardworking Olympian would. I say we just trust her judgment because she's not going to give up unless she is physically incapable of competing."

Monica sighs and runs a hand through her blonde hair. "I guess you're right, Nikita, but you can't blame me for worrying. Where are the others anyway?"

"The others are in Missy's suite listening to our parents tell them things they shouldn't even try bothering Missy with while we're at the games." Olivia answers in her usual perky tone.

Before Monica can answer, Erica walks into the living room, fully dressed with hair in a single bun and duffle bag over her shoulder.

"I think that's the shortest amount of time you've ever taken a shower." Anna comments while the boys agree.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we need to go." Erica comments, already picking up a hotel key and walking out of the door before her sentence is finished.

Everyone follows her into Missy and Zack's suite. Inside, they find their parents telling Missy and Zack what they need to do if the kids get out of hand. To the left of them are the kids not going, including Missy's own kids fifteen year old Nick and twelve year old Terri. Even though everything Olivia told Missy about her future back in the past was just a story, it turns out Missy's life turned out very similarly to what Olivia had pictured. Olivia didn't picture Missy marrying Penny's ex Zack Johnson, though.

When Leonard is finally done with his rant about what to do if Isaac gets out of hand, the adults finally notice them.

"Is it time to go?" he asks the teens.

"I've told you this for the past ten minutes, Leonard." Sheldon tells him, eye twitching slightly at the thought of being ignored.

"We better go then. Bye kids, Missy, and Zack." Howard says, already leaving.

All leave the hotel and go down the stairs after saying their goodbyes. Once in the parking lot, everyone piles into their respective vehicles. Olivia allows Orlando to wrap his hands around her waist before taking off on her Harley motorcycle, the license plate 'Bradley' disappearing with the bike. It had taken her a while to completely get over her fear of bikes, but as soon as she did, she bought herself a bike to honor her long, lost boyfriend. Soon, everyone has left except Natalie and Leonard.

"Come on, Natalie. We need to go because we're already late enough as it is." Leonard comments, getting into his car.

"Dad, we need to talk." Natalie says as soon as she is buckled up.

"What is it?"

Natalie takes a deep breath. She had tried even harder to quit smoking since she got back to her present time, but she still couldn't manage to get rid of her disgusting habit. She had been trying to find a way to tell her father like Uncle Sheldon suggested, and now seems to be as good a time as any.

"I've started smoking, and I don't know how to stop." By this time, tears have started to fall out of her chocolate brown eyes.

It's a good thing Leonard hasn't started the car yet because he turns all the way toward Natalie.

"Excuse me?"

"I've been smoking since I was thirteen, Dad."

When Leonard finally sees the tears running down Natalie's face, his own softens and he stretches his arms out as much as he can in the vehicle. Natalie accepts the hug and buries her face in his chest. The two stay like that for a few minutes until Leonard pulls back.

"Why didn't you tell me before now, five years later?"

"I was afraid." Natalie admits sheepishly.

This just makes Leonard look even more confused. "What changed then?"

Natalie laughs a little. "Let's just say I got some great advice from someone in the past. And I need help breaking the habit."

Leonard simply nods and says, "I'll help you in any way I can. Now, are you finally ready to go?"

Natalie nods and Leonard drives off to the Olympic stadium. When they get through the line and to their seats, Erica is already dressed and talking to her coach.

"Dear lord, what took you both so long?" Sheldon asks once he sees them.

"Natalie needed to talk to me about something." Leonard answers and kisses his wife's cheek before sitting down beside her.

Olivia turns to Nikita, just now remembering something. "Nikita, isn't your new boyfriend down there?"

Nikita rolls her eyes. "Yeah, I already told you that. He's competing in the Olympic fencing competition."

Nikita started dating Cody Evans almost a month ago when Erica introduced them, her first boyfriend since Jack. Cody has heard about Nikita's terrible past and agreed to take their relationship as slow as Nikita deemed. As a result, the two haven't even kissed yet.

"Please tell me you're finally going to kiss him today." Monica pleads, a puppy dog look on her face.

Nikita sighs. "I don't know, Monica. I kind of promised him I will kiss him if he manages to get a gold medal tomorrow, but I'm not sure if I will then either."

"Can you people please be quiet? The gymnastics event is starting." Tim says, the younger siblings agreeing.

One by one, the female gymnasts take their turns doing their routines before it is finally Erica's turn. She takes a deep breath before jumping up onto the lower bar to begin her routine. She goes through each step, ignoring the slight soreness in her back while Monica sits on the edge of her seat, biting her nails in suspense.

Erica twists and turns, jumping in between the bars as sweat beads across her forehead. About mid-way through the routine, she starts to feel pain in her back once more. Like the determined person she is, she simply grits her teeth and bears it as she prepares for her dismount.

She completes but at a price. As she lands on the ground, she has to fight to keep her balance as slight pain shoots all the way from the base of her spine up to her shoulders. She bites her tongue as she raises her arms in a triumphant pose, knowing she didn't keep her balance as well as she had hoped. Afterwards, she is taken to the side so she can sit with her coach to see the scores she is given.

Monica watches Erica as she sits down, her mouth set in a frown. Natalie notices and looks at Monica, both eyebrows raised in question. Monica shakes her head and motions for Natalie to come closer. Natalie complies.

Monica places her mouth near Natalie's ear so no one else can hear. "Erica didn't stick her landing well. She's going to get a low score."

Natalie nods as she leans away from Monica, her face showing a mask of happiness for Erica while her eyes show concern for the same.

When Erica's scores came up, they were a little disappointing. The group gasps, knowing the possibility of Erica winning a gold medal now completely depends on her floor routine.

"This concludes the gymnastics event for the day." The announcer begins in his British accent. "We will conclude the event tomorrow at noon with the floor routines and ceremony."

As soon as the words leave his mouth, the group rushes over to hug Erica who already has tears falling from her cheeks.

"It'll be okay, Erica." "It's not impossible." "You'll be able to do it."

The words of encouragement and comfort come from all members of the group, blending together until the voice of each individual is indistinguishable among the others. They continue until Erica pulls away, wiping her tears.

"Guys, I'll be fine. Just, can we please go?"

They nod, worry still prominent in their eyes as they slowly clear the premises. Soon enough, only Erica, Natalie, Monica, and Anna remain. It doesn't take long until Erica completely breaks down, falling to her knees as sobs resonate from her body.

Monica drops to her knees beside her, rubbing her back and whispering in her ear.

"What am I going to do, Monica? You know my floor routines are always awful. How am I supposed to obtain my gold medal now?" she asked, looking at her twin with tears falling in waterfalls down her cheeks.

"Don't give up yet, Erica. There's still a chance."

"No there isn't, Natalie! My floor routine will never be good enough to make-up for the awful score I got today!"

"There might be a way." Anna says quietly, having never seen her sister behave this way before.

"How?" Erica asks, matching her voice to Anna's as what energy she had the moment before leaves her.

"Originality is part of how a floor routine is evaluated, right? Well, I'm a pretty talented dancer, if I do say so myself. I could teach you some moves to use in your floor routine."

The teenagers remain quiet, making Anna fidget.

After a few moments of silence, Natalie looks at Erica and says, "You know, that could work."

Anna noticeably relaxes as she looks at Erica, hoping the older girl will agree.

Erica sniffs, wiping her eyes once more and looking up at her younger sister. "When do you want to start?"


	21. Random Author's Note

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. I am so sorry for this author's note, but I have been trying to post the new chapter up all day and for some reason it didn't want to publish. So, I'm hoping by adding this, both it and the chapter would show up. So, here is a very random author's note and hopefully the new chapter.~


	22. Ch 19 Olympic Gold

~Please refer to the first chapter for a disclaimer. It is finally done! I started this fan fiction a year ago when I wondered what it would be like for the Big Bang Theory characters to have children. And now, one year later, it is finally finished. I would like to thank you all for sticking with this story and supporting an idea that I honestly thought would never get this big. Without you guys, I don't know if I would have ever finished it. So, without further ado, the final chapter of The Time Travel Experience! ~

Anna jumps up and down, running toward Erica and hugging her with all the power she possesses. Erica winces, but hugs Anna back all the same. Monica notices the wince and raises her eyebrows.

"Okay, what's wrong? I saw that wince, Erica, so don't you dare try to say nothing."

Erica pulls back and sighs. "My back's sore from the fall yesterday is all. That was the reason I didn't stick the landing as well as I could've."

"You should go to the doctor." Monica says, walking away.

Erica stands and goes after her. "Why should I, Monica? When you were little and fell off your bike or the back of a horse when we were visiting grandma in Texas, did they take you to the doctor?"

"Dad wanted to but Mom and Meemaw wouldn't let him." Monica answers, still not looking at her twin.

"And why did Mom and Grandma not want to take you to the doctor, even when you were sore the next day?"

It takes a few moments but eventually she answers. "Because they said there was no point in going to the doctor when the doctor couldn't do anything they couldn't do right there in the house."

"Exactly." Erica whispers. "There is no point in me going to the doctor for something that is going to heal on its own."

Monica sighs, finally turning around to face her sister. "I see your point. I guess I'm just worried about you, Ricki. When I saw you fall yesterday, it scared the crap outta me."

Erica hugs her. "I know it did, but you have to remember I have gotten far worse injuries because of gymnastics. A sore back is nothing."

"It could've been so much worse, though. "Monica responds, hugging her back.

"It could've been," Erica concedes. "But it wasn't. It doesn't matter what could've happened. All that matters is what did happen and what did happen is not going to kill me."

"Okay, if we're done with the love fest over here, I think our parents are gonna wonder where we are if we don't hurry up." Anna jumps in, dragging the two sisters along by their arms as Natalie trails along behind, trying not to laugh.

They run to the others, showing up as everyone looks at them.

"Where have you been?" Leonard asks.

"We were just talking, Dad." Natalie answers, kissing him on the cheek as she slides into the passenger seat of the car and shuts the door without another word.

Leonard shakes his head whispering "I don't need to know" to himself over and over as he opens the driver's side door and slides in himself, driving off.

"Okay, who's driving?" Erica asks Monica.

"Can I…" Anna starts but is cut off before she can finish.

"Absolutely not." They answer, making Anna cross her arms over her chest.

"I'll drive, Erica. You must be exhausted." Monica says, walking over to the driver's side and getting in.

"Shotgun." Anna calls, getting in on the passenger side.

Erica rolls her eyes as she gets in the back. "Fine by me, I get to sleep on the way home."

As the sisters make their way back to the hotel, sleep is exactly what Erica does. Monica looks back at her twin in the review-mirror, turning the music down. Soon enough, Anna falls asleep as well, and the ride becomes silent except for the soft music playing in the background.

No sooner than the girls step out of the vehicle do the questions start.

"What took you so long? Are you okay?" Sheldon asks, crossing his arms.

"Relax, Dad, we were just talking and it ran overtime." Monica answers, not trusting the other two to come up with a response.

"That's what I told him, girls, but he never listens." Leonard says, shaking his head at his former roommate and lifetime friend.

"I trust you with a lot of things, Leonard, but the safety of my girls is not part of that quotient." Sheldon answers.

"You've let them sleepover at my house countless times! That is part of trusting me with their safety."

"No, that is trusting them with their own safety. I'm just trusting you to let them stay there."

"Then why couldn't you trust them with their own safety to come back to the hotel?"

"Because this is Britain, Leonard. My girls have never been to Britain before so how can they possibly know what evil lurks in these streets?"

"Okay, we're fine as you can see so if you'll excuse us, Erica and I have a lot of work to do." Anna interjects, dragging Erica inside the building by the arm.

"And I'm going to bed so if you'll excuse me as well." Monica says, yawning as she walks into the building.

Inside the training room, Erica and Anna are beginning practice. Erica, already dressed in her leotard, shows Anna the routine. When she is finished, she looks to the other girl for evaluation.

"Okay, I see your problem." Anna says, moving closer. "You're all technical. Sure, you've got some really great stunts, but that's all there is with you. Your floor routine is supposed to reflect your personality, but I can't even get a glimpse of your personality with this routine."

"Okay, so how can I do better?"

"Loosen up a little bit. You're too stiff. I know a lot's riding on this one routine, but looking like Dad when someone cuts him off in the middle of an interesting fact is not earning you any points."

Erica cracks a smile despite herself and loosens her shoulders. Over and over the two work on Erica's routine, Anna showing her artistic moves she can add and helping her to have fun with it.

Soon enough, the two girls covered in sweat call it quits and head up to their suite. Walking up the stairs and into the apartment, they didn't speak to anyone. Instead, they crawl into their respective beds. The rest of the family simply watches from the sidelines, slightly concerned.

"They really tired themselves out, huh?" Penny asks, holding her hands to her heart.

"Of course they did. Erica had just competed in an international sporting event hours before, and Anna always tires herself out with dance." Sheldon explains in his regular matter-of-fact tone.

Penny's only response is to pick up the nearest object, a magazine, rolls it up and hits him over the head with it.

"Well, it's true." He replies, rubbing his head like she actually injured him.

Monica and Mason snort, holding their hands over their mouths, before going back watching whatever television program is on. Penny looks over at them, and with a wicked smirk, picks up the remote and turns the TV off.

"Okay, off to bed you two. Now don't you give me that look! The gymnast's final competition starts early tomorrow."

Brother and sister share a small smile and roll of the eyes before saying, "Goodnight, love you," and retiring to their respective bedrooms as well.

"Well, I think we should follow our children's lead and go to bed ourselves. Big day tomorrow, after all." Sheldon says, standing before offering his wife a hand.

She takes it, smiling, and together they retire to their bedroom, content to fall asleep in each other's arms once more.

The next morning begins with a sense of urgency, everyone out of bed and hurrying to get ready by nine.

Nikita, Raj, and Amy walk in just in time to see everyone running around like headless chickens. Erica filling her gym bag, hair still wet from her shower. Monica rushing to get dressed, making Amy cover Raj's eyes with her hands. Anna yelling obscenities to anyone she thinks isn't hurrying along fast enough.

"Guys, calm down. We've still got time." Nikita says, making everyone stop and stare at the new arrivals as Monica finishes getting dressed.

"We have ten minutes, and it will take at least that much if not more to get there." Sheldon says, twitching madly.

"Sheldon, what time do you think it is?" Raj asks, stepping forward.

"Are you mad? It's 11:20, and Erica's due at the stadium at 11:30. How much clearer can I put it?"

This causes the group of three to burst out laughing. As seconds turn into minutes with the group laughing nonstop, Sheldon's twitching turns almost violent until, "Just what is so funny?"

"Sheldon, it's 9:20, not 11:20. The clock on your phone must have malfunctioned." Raj explains, wiping tears from his eyes as he tries not to laugh once more.

Everyone calms down, drained. Anna even slouches on the couch when she asks, "Then why are you guys here so early if we don't have to leave, yet?"

"Oh, I was going to ask Monica and Erica to join me in watching Cody's fencing competition since I figured that at least Erica would be up and ready." Nikita answers.

"And we were here because Orlando's spending time with Shawn and Isaac, and we thought about visiting you guys." Raj finishes, looking anywhere but at his wife.

"I wanted to try something new to spice up our love life, but hubby was having none of it." Amy jumps in as if talking about one's love life is the most natural thing in the world.

"Okay, I hate to ask but _what_ exactly did you have in mind?"

"Well, I was thinking about whips…" Amy begins before Nikita cuts her off.

"Okay, okay, that's enough! So, are you two up for it?" Nikita asks, disgust showing on her face before she shakes it off.

"Yeah, sure. I'll just let my hair air-dry today." Erica answers, pulling her halfway dry hair into a bun at the nape of her neck.

"What about you, Monica?" Nikita asks, a hopeful look in her eye.

Monica pretends to think about it for a minute before saying, "Eh, why not. It's not like I'm going back to sleep any time soon."

"Great, see you guys." Nikita says, already making her way to the door.

Monica and Erica follow her, Erica picking up her gym bag along the way. As they make their way, Erica notices they're going the wrong way.

"Nikita, you do know the stairs are the other way, right?"

"I know, I'm going to ask Natalie and Olivia if they want to join us." Nikita says before knocking on the Wolowitz's door.

After a few minutes and what sounds like a tornado going through the room, it is Olivia who answers the door in a less than immaculate state.

"Yes?" she asks, wincing as the sounds of even more stuff breaking reaches the door.

"Stop being babies and take a bath!" someone, presumably Laura, shouts at, one can only assume, the twins.

"Would you like to go with us to watch the fencing competition?" Nikita asks, hoping to get her sentence hear over the yelling.

"Let me get my purse." Olivia answers hurriedly running back into the hotel room and running back so fast one would assume she ran track.

"I'm going out with the girls! They're your problem now!" she yells, shutting the door behind her before anyone can dare object.

"Rough morning?" Monica asks as the walk down the hall to the Hofstadter residence.

Olivia simply looks at her as she tries to get her wayward hair into some sense of style and says, "You have no idea."

"Here, Olivia," Erica says, handing her a spare hair bow. "This might help."

"Thanks." Olivia answers, pulling her hair back.

They arrive at the Hofstadter residence and pick Natalie up without a hitch.

Natalie looks at Olivia and asks, "What's up with you?", as they walk down the stairs to the lobby.

"Long story, don't ask. Why do we have to walk down the stairs when there's a perfectly functioning elevator?"

"Because most doctors agree that choosing to walk up and down stairs as opposed to taking the elevator is a simple way to remain healthy and get exercise." Erica explains, smiling at the girl.

"We're eighteen and in perfect health. Can't we just wait until we're older to start worrying about it?"

"It's never too early to start worrying about your health, right Ms. Future Medical Doctor?" Erica says, looking at Natalie.

Natalie shrugs, looking sheepish. "She does have a point, Olivia."

"Whatever, why are we going to watch the fencing competition anyway? Not that I mind because it's getting me away from those little monsters but still?"

"My boyfriend is competing for the gold today, remember?" Nikita asks, looking at the short girl like she had completely lost her mind.

"Oh yeah, right. Are you finally gonna kiss him if he wins?" Olivia asks, finally perking up slightly.

Nikita sighs. "I don't know. I know it's been a long time since Jack," she winces at the name, "and that Cody is different, but I'm just not sure I'm ready."

"Sweetie, don't you think that boy has waited long enough to kiss you?" Monica asks as they finally reach the lobby.

"Yeah, you can't exactly expect him to be patient forever." Olivia contributes.

"Oh, come on, guys. Cody knows about Nikita's past, and if he cares about her at all, he will be patient enough to wait until she is completely comfortable with establishing a physical relationship." Erica says, exasperated as they get in the car and drive off.

"I agree with Erica. If he cares about me, he will wait." Nikita says, not sounding quite as resolved as she would've liked.

The ride is silent until Natalie suddenly blurts out, "I told Dad about my smoking problem."

She told the rest of the girls a few months after they returned to their own time. They took it pretty well and even helped her hide it from the rest of their families.

"Really, how'd he take it?" Monica asks, shocked that Natalie had finally told him.

"The way I expected him to. He was angry at first, but in the end, he promised to help me quit."

"If you expected him to react decently then why did it take you this long to tell him?" Erica asks, too busy driving to look at the girl.

"Didn't you hear me? I said he was angry."

"Yes, but then you said he offered to help you." Erica points out.

"I don't care. I can't stand to have my parents angry or disappointed in me." Natalie replies, crossing her arms and looking down at her lap.

"He still offered to help you. Not many parents would have done that, Natalie." Erica replies, placing a hand on the girl's knee.

"Either way, it's over with now and nobody else has to know." Monica offers, looking at Natalie through the rearview mirror.

"He'll probably tell Mom, though. And then I'm screwed."

"Natalie, they just want to help you. You'll get through this." Nikita says, happy the topic is off her for a little bit.

"Well, Erica, how are you feeling? Back still hurting?" Natalie asks, looking for a change of subject.

"A little sore but nothing I can't handle." Erica answers, smiling. "Hopefully I'll be walking away with a gold medal today."

"Hopefully." Monica says, parking as they finally reach the stadium. "We're here."

The girls hop out, Nikita shaking slightly. Olivia places a hand on the nervous girl's shoulders, calming her down somewhat. Nikita looks at her, smiling sheepishly. Olivia shakes her head, smiling as she pushes Nikita toward the stadium.

"Come on, you don't wanna be late to your boyfriend's competition."

The fencing competition goes by smoothly with Cody walking away with the gold medal. Natalie applauds and hugs him when he comes to sit with her after the interviews, but she doesn't kiss him. After congratulating Cody on his win, Erica escapes to get ready for the gymnastics competition. Soon enough, the rest of the family arrives and the competition starts.

"Going first on the beam is Erica Cooper. After that nasty fall on the uneven bars yesterday and drastically low score, it may be a bit of a stretch for this gymnast to walk away with a gold medal this year." The commenter announces as Erica preps herself.

"That's sad, John, because rumor has it this will be Erica's last Olympics. The young girl has said it herself she plans to retire early and focus on her schoolwork." A female commenter comes on after him.

"Seems natural, Chloe. Erica was the youngest gymnast on the United States team when she went to the Olympics four years ago at age fourteen, and now at age eighteen she will be one of the youngest willingly retired gymnasts."

Everyone tunes the commenters out as Erica begins her routine, going through it perfectly. Everyone stands up and applauds when she finishes with a double twist dismount. When the score is given, Erica hugs her coach, smiling.

"That was a spectacular beam routine and her score reflects that, but I don't know if it will be enough to make up for the fiasco that was her uneven bars routine yesterday. We'll have to wait and see Erica's floor routine to know for sure." The male commenter, John, says over the speakers.

"And everyone who has followed this young gymnast knows the floor routine is Erica's weak spot. She's in a better spot now than yesterday, but it will still take a miracle for her to win a gold medal for the road." The female commenter, Chloe, replies.

"Yeah, well, Erica has never had any help before." Anna whispers to herself, hoping her help will be enough.

"What was that, Sweetie?" Penny asks, turning back toward her youngest daughter.

"Nothing, Mom." She answers, focusing on the other gymnasts.

Erica watches her competitors complete their routines. Some do a little better than her, some do a whole lot worse. In the end, she has one of the highest scores for beam, and she feels a little more confident.

The coaches tell her and the rest of the gymnasts to start warming up for the floor routine. Erica does as she is told, only working on her tricks instead of the dance moves in an effort to surprise the world.

Soon enough, the floor routine starts and one by one, the gymnasts go through their routines. Most go out-of-bounds at least once, making Erica feel a little better.

Soon enough, it is Erica's turn as the last gymnast. Erica takes a deep breath and starts with the music. At first she completes only gymnastics tricks, flipping through the air as if there were springs in the bottom of her feet. Then she starts incorporating Anna's hip-hop style dance moves, letting them lead her into more tricks as she is careful not to jump out-of-bounds. The crowd jumps to their feet and claps, so loud Erica can barely hear the music anymore.

"Well, this is certainly a surprise coming from Erica, Chloe."

"You got that right, John. She is spectacular, but will it be enough to pull her score up?"

Erica finishes on a strong note just as the song ends. She smiles when she gets off the platform, sitting down with her coach as she waits for her score.

"Here comes the tough part, the waiting. It is not impossible for Erica to make a comeback and win that gold medal she barely missed out on last Olympics, but it is still a little bit of a stretch. Still, this was, no doubt, the best floor routine I have ever seen coming from this talented girl."

"I think if anyone can do it, it will be Erica Cooper, John. This has been the biggest comeback I have ever seen in my career as a commenter, maybe even my whole life. She has worked for it, but will it be enough?"

Erica grips her coach's hand so tightly she almost breaks it as she waits for her score. Finally, they pull it up and everyone stands and applauds, as Erica starts crying tears of joy.

"There you have it, folks. The best comeback in history leads to a big win for the USA and an even bigger personal win for Erica Cooper as she takes home the gold medal."

Nikita kisses Cody, not thinking, as the rest of the group run down to see Erica. Nikita pulls back, blushing bright red and stares at Cody, wide-eyed. Cody shakes his head and smiles at her before pulling her back in for another kiss. Nikita relaxes into it, wrapping her arms around him.

Erica turns around to face her friends and family before she is picked up by Mason. She screams and laughs, hugging her little brother as the rest of the group joins in. Interviews start swarming around the huge group, asking who all these people were.

"They're my family! And I couldn't have asked for a better one!" Erica screams over the crowd, smiling at them.

"Erica, who taught you those moves you used in your floor routine?" one interviewer asks, placing the microphone in Erica's face.

"That would be my little sister, Anna Cooper." She says, pushing Anna in front of the cameras.

The interviewers take interest in Anna, giving Erica just enough time to escape for the award ceremony. She steps up on the podium for gold medalists, never thinking she would ever be there. She smiles as someone places the gold medal around her neck, the weight making sure she knows this is actually happening.

She looks around at her family as Nikita and Cody finally join the crowd, his arm around her. Who knew a time travelling experience could bring them all even closer? But, then again, who would ever doubt it.


End file.
